In Jainism, “Panch Jñān” (5 kinds of knowledge) are a very important basic concept. I’ll explain each in simple language, and also how they relate to each other.

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Overview: 5 Types of Jñān (Knowledge)

1. Mati Jñān – Knowledge through senses and mind
2. Śruta Jñān – Knowledge through words, scriptures and teaching
3. Avadhi Jñān – Clairvoyant knowledge (limited, direct)
4. Manaḥparyāya Jñān – Telepathic knowledge of others’ thoughts
5. Keval Jñān – Perfect omniscience (infinite knowledge)

All Jain traditions (Digambar and Shwetambar) accept these same five.

Another important point:

• Indirect (Parokṣa) knowledge:

- Mati Jñān - Śruta Jñān

• Direct (Pratyakṣa) knowledge:

- Avadhi Jñān - Manaḥparyāya Jñān - Keval Jñān

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1. Mati Jñān (मति ज्ञान)

Simple meaning: Knowledge gained by seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching + thinking.

• Comes through 5 senses + mind.
• Includes:

- simple perception (I see a pot), - memory (I remember the pot), - recognition (this is the same pot as before), - guessing & reasoning (if it is hot, it may contain tea).

So, all our normal daily understanding through eyes–ears–mind is Mati Jñān.

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2. Śruta Jñān (श्रुत ज्ञान)

Simple meaning: Knowledge obtained by hearing/reading from others – scriptures, teachers, books, speeches.

• Comes through:

- listening to discourses, - reading Jain scriptures, - learning from gurus, parents, teachers, etc.

• It is based on language, words, symbols.
• It depends on Mati Jñān:

first we sense and think (Mati), then we organize it as teachings (Śruta).

So, Jain āgams, pravachans, Jain stories you study – all that understanding is Śruta Jñān.

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3. Avadhi Jñān (अवधि ज्ञान)

Simple meaning: Clairvoyant knowledge – direct knowledge of material things (rūpī dravya) without using senses or scriptures.

• The soul directly knows some objects far away, hidden or subtle,

but within certain limits: - limited distance, - limited types of objects, - limited area.

• Found in:

- some devas (heavenly beings), - some nārakīs (hellish beings) have low forms, - and highly advanced sādhus.

• It is direct (pratyakṣa) but limited.

Example idea (just to imagine): A being can know what is happening far away, or inside something, without seeing it – but only within a fixed range.

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4. Manaḥparyāya Jñān (मनःपर्याय ज्ञान)

Simple meaning: Telepathic knowledge – direct knowledge of others’ thoughts.

• The soul directly knows mental modes of other beings.
• No need of speech, signals, or guess-work.
• It is:

- more subtle and higher than Avadhi Jñān, - available only to highly spiritually advanced human ascetics.

• Very pure state: passions (kashāyas) are very mild or almost destroyed.

So, where Avadhi knows objects, Manaḥparyāya knows minds.

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5. Keval Jñān (केवल ज्ञान)

Simple meaning: Perfect, infinite, complete knowledge – omniscience.

• Knows all substances (dravya) and all their modes:

- past, present and future, - everywhere, without any limit.

• No help of senses, mind, scriptures – purely the natural power of the fully purified soul.
• Possessed by:

- Arihants / Tirthankars (while still embodied), - Siddhas (after liberation).

• It is absolutely error-free, unlimited, and eternal as long as the soul exists (and soul is eternal).

In Jainism, there is no creator God giving Keval Jñān. The soul itself attains it when all jñānāvaraṇīya karma (knowledge-obscuring karma) and other major karmas are destroyed.

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Relationship Between the 5 Jñān

• Mati → basic sensory + mental understanding.
• From Mati, organized teachings arise → Śruta.
• When soul becomes purer, it gets higher, direct knowledges:

- first Avadhi (clairvoyance of objects), - then Manaḥparyāya (thought-reading), - finally Keval (omniscience).

Spiritual progress is a journey from limited, indirect, error-prone knowledge to unlimited, direct, perfect knowledge (Keval Jñān).

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If you want to read a simple article on Jain knowledge and the five jñāns, you can see it here