Sanskrit ' or Prakrit mokkha refers to the liberation or salvation of a soul from saá¹ÂsÃÂra, the cycle of birth and death. It is a blissful state of existence of a soul, attained after the destruction of all karmic bonds. A liberated soul is said to have attained its true and pristine nature of Unlimited bliss, Unlimited knowledge and Unlimited perception. Such a soul is called siddha and is revered in Jainism.
In Jainism, moksha is the highest and the noblest objective that a soul should strive to achieve. In fact, it is the only objective that a person should have; other objectives are contrary to the true nature of soul. With the right view, knowledge and efforts all souls can attain this state. That is why Jainism is also known as ' or the "path to liberation".
According to the Sacred Jain Text, Tattvartha sutra:
From the point of view of potentiality of , Jain texts bifurcates the souls into two categories: bhavya and abhavya. Bhavya souls are those souls who have faith in and hence will make some efforts to achieve liberation. This potentiality or quality is called bhavyata. However, bhavyata itself does not guarantee , as the soul needs to expend necessary efforts to attain it. On the other hand, abhavya souls are those souls who cannot attain liberation as they do not have faith in and hence never make any efforts to attain it.
According to Jainism, purification of soul and liberation can be achieved through the path of three jewels:
The four jewels are called moksha marg. According to Acharya KundaKunda's Samayasara:
The fourteen stages on the path to liberation are called GunasthÃÂna. These are:
Those who pass the last stage are called siddha and become fully established in Right Faith, Right Knowledge and Right Conduct.
means final release from the karmic bondage. When an enlightened human, such as an Arihant or a Tirthankara, extinguishes his remaining aghatiya karmas and thus ends his worldly existence, it is called . Technically, the death of an Arhat is called their nirvÃÂá¹Âa, as he has ended his worldly existence and attained liberation. Moksha (liberation) follows nirvÃÂá¹Âa. However, the terms moksa and nirvana are often used interchangeably in the Jain texts. An Arhat becomes a siddha, the liberated one, after attaining nirvana.
In that night in which the Venerable Ascetic Mahavira died, freed from all pains, the eighteen confederate kings of Kasi and Kosala, the nine Mallakis and nine Licchavis, on the day of new moon, instituted an illuminations on the Poshadha, which was a fasting day; for they said: 'Since the light of intelligence is gone, let us make an illumination of material matter!'(128)
Once a soul secures samyaktva, is assured within a few lifetimes. According to Jain texts, the liberated pure soul (Siddha) goes up to the summit of universe (Siddhashila) and dwells there in eternal bliss.
A liberated soul dwells in Siddhashila with infinite faith, infinite knowledge, infinite perception, and infinite perfection. According to the Jain text, Puruà ÂÃÂrthasiddhyupÃÂya: