Good observation. Jain philosophy answers this very clearly.

1. How does karma come in (āsrava)?

In general, āsrava happens through yoga – vibration/activity of: - body (kāya-yoga) - speech (vācana-yoga) - mind (mano-yoga)

1. What about one‑sensed beings (ekendriya jīva)?

- They have only one sense: touch. - They do not have mind or speech as separate organs. - So, their yoga is only of the body (kāya-yoga).

That means: - Movement, growth, subtle internal activities of their body, etc., create vibrations in the soul. - These vibrations attract karmic pudgala (karmic matter). - This is āsrava, and when it sticks to the soul, it becomes bandha (karma‑bondage).

1. Do they need “intention” like us?

- In higher beings (with mind), passions (kaṣāya – anger, pride, deceit, greed) and mental intentions strongly increase bondage. - In one‑sensed beings, the level of development is very low, but still: - There is instinctive attachment/aversion (rāga–dveṣa) appropriate to their level. - Wherever there is even subtle rāga–dveṣa along with body‑activity, karma binds.

So, even without a developed mind and speech, there is enough inner disturbance plus bodily activity for karma to bind.

1. So is it “with body”?

More precisely: - Instrument: only body‑yoga (physical activity). - Cause: subtle rāga–dveṣa (passion/impurity) in the soul. - Result: karmic particles bind to the soul (bandha).

So you can say for ekendriya: → They bind karma through body‑activity (kāya‑yoga) accompanied by their own level of passions, even though they have no separate mind and speech organs.

For a basic list of ekendriya (earth, water, fire, air, plants etc.) you can see more here: