In Jain philosophy, the soul is pure, omniscient, and full of infinite bliss by nature. But because of karma, this natural purity becomes covered and obstructed. Jainism describes eight main karmas that bind with the soul.

These are divided into two groups:

• Ghātiyā karmas: harmful to the soul’s true qualities
• Aghātiyā karmas: do not directly destroy the soul’s basic qualities, but affect body, life, status, and experience

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The Eight Karmas

1) Jñānāvaraṇīya Karma

Knowledge-obscuring karma

This karma covers the soul’s power of knowledge.

Effect:

• Prevents the soul from knowing things clearly
• Causes ignorance, confusion, forgetfulness, or limited knowledge

Soul quality covered:

• Infinite knowledge

Example:

Just as clouds hide the sun, this karma hides the soul’s knowledge.

Subtypes:

Jain texts often describe five kinds related to the five types of knowledge:

• Mati-jñānāvaraṇīya
• Śruta-jñānāvaraṇīya
• Avadhi-jñānāvaraṇīya
• Manaḥparyaya-jñānāvaraṇīya
• Kevala-jñānāvaraṇīya

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2) Darśanāvaraṇīya Karma

Perception-obscuring karma

This karma covers the soul’s power of right perception or intuition.

Effect:

• Blocks true awareness and direct perception
• Causes spiritual dullness, sleepiness, inattention, and loss of clarity

Soul quality covered:

• Infinite perception

Example:

If knowledge is like seeing the details of a thing, perception is like simply being aware of it. This karma blocks that awareness.

Subtypes:

Traditionally described as related to:

• Eyebrow/eye-related perception
• Sleep-related states
• Clairvoyant and other perception obstructions

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3) Mohanīya Karma

Deluding karma

This is one of the most powerful karmas. It creates attachment and wrong belief.

Effect:

• Causes mithyātva (wrong faith or delusion)
• Creates attachment, hatred, anger, pride, deceit, greed
• Makes the soul identify with body, possessions, and emotions

Soul quality covered:

• Right faith and right conduct

Why it is important:

Jainism teaches that this karma is the main cause of bondage because it distorts both belief and conduct.

Subtypes:

It is broadly divided into:

• Darśana-mohanīya: delusion of right belief
• Cāritra-mohanīya: delusion of conduct

Cāritra-mohanīya is further connected with:

• Kaṣāyas: anger, pride, deceit, greed
• No-kaṣāyas: minor passions and emotional disturbances

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4) Antarāya Karma

Obstructing karma

This karma prevents the soul from using its powers fully.

Effect:

• Obstructs charity
• Obstructs gain
• Obstructs enjoyment
• Obstructs repeated enjoyment
• Obstructs power and energy

Soul quality covered:

• Infinite spiritual energy and unobstructed ability

Example:

A person may have resources, but still face repeated blocks in giving, doing, or achieving because of this karma.

Subtypes:

Usually five:

• Dāna-antarāya
• Lābha-antarāya
• Bhoga-antarāya
• Upabhoga-antarāya
• Vīrya-antarāya

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These first four are called Ghātiyā karmas because they directly hinder the soul’s essential powers.

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5) Vedanīya Karma

Feeling-producing karma

This karma gives rise to pleasure and pain.

Effect:

• Causes pleasant experiences or painful experiences in life
• Makes the soul experience happiness and suffering through the body and mind

Soul quality covered:

• Infinite bliss

Subtypes:

• Sātā vedanīya: produces pleasant feeling
• Asātā vedanīya: produces painful feeling

Important point:

The soul itself is beyond pain and pleasure, but this karma makes it experience them through embodied life.

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6) Nāma Karma

Body-determining karma

This karma determines the type of body, form, structure, and many physical and biological features.

Effect:

• Decides the body one gets
• Determines shape, size, beauty, strength, movement, and senses
• Also influences birth form, family traits, and bodily conditions

Soul quality covered:

• Soul’s formless pure existence is conditioned into a particular physical form

Subtypes:

Jain texts describe many subtypes of nāma karma, such as:

• Human, animal, heavenly, hellish body-making karma
• Good-looking or unattractive body
• Strong or weak body
• Senses, gait, voice, and other bodily features

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7) Gotra Karma

Status-determining karma

This karma decides one’s social status, family status, and respectability.

Effect:

• Causes birth in high or low status family
• Determines honor, prestige, and social standing
• Does not refer to spiritual worth, only worldly status

Subtypes:

• Ucca gotra: high-status birth
• Nīca gotra: low-status birth

Important Jain view:

True spiritual greatness depends on the soul’s conduct, not worldly status.

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8) Āyuṣya Karma

Lifespan-determining karma

This karma decides the duration of life in a particular birth.

Effect:

• Fixes how long the soul will stay in one body
• Determines the span of life in one birth: hellish, animal, human, or heavenly

Subtypes:

• Naraka āyu
• Tiryañca āyu
• Mānava āyu
• Deva āyu

Important point:

Once āyuṣya karma is bound, it strongly determines the life-span of that birth.

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Summary Table

| Karma | Main Effect | |---|---| | Jñānāvaraṇīya | Obscures knowledge | | Darśanāvaraṇīya | Obscures perception | | Mohanīya | Causes delusion, attachment, wrong belief | | Antarāya | Obstructs energy, giving, gain, enjoyment | | Vedanīya | Produces pleasure and pain | | Nāma | Gives body and bodily characteristics | | Gotra | Gives high or low social status | | Āyuṣya | Determines lifespan |

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Simple way to remember

The first four karmas stop the soul’s true spiritual powers:

• Knowledge
• Perception
• Faith/conduct
• Energy

The last four shape worldly existence:

• Feeling
• Body
• Status
• Lifespan

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Jain spiritual message

According to Jainism, liberation comes when the soul destroys all eight karmas through:

• Right faith
• Right knowledge
• Right conduct
• Self-discipline
• Non-violence
• Detachment
• Penance
• Meditation

When all karmas are fully destroyed, the soul attains mokṣa and becomes completely free.

If you want, I can also explain the eight karmas in very simple language, or give their Digambar and Śvetāmbara traditional presentation.