Which of the following is one of the ‘three gems’ (triratna) of Jainism?

Q: What is the answer to CDS (I) 2025 GK Q31?

B. Correct — B, Samyag-darshana. Jainism's three gems, the triratna or ratnatraya, are samyag-darshana (right faith, or right view), samyag-jnana (right knowledge) and samyak-charitra (right conduct). They are the path to liberation set out at the opening of Umasvati's Tattvartha Sutra, and the tradition insists they work only together: faith without knowledge is blind, knowledge without conduct is idle. Right faith comes first because it is the conviction in the nature of reality that makes the other two possible. The three items that surround it in this question are all genuine Jain terms, which is exactly why the item is not free — but every one of them belongs to a different list. Brahmacharya and asteya are two of the five great vows, the mahavratas, taken by ascetics; sunrita is a term for truthful and kindly speech. Vows govern how a Jain lives. The three gems describe what liberation is built out of. (Provisional — pending the official UPSC key.)

(a)Brahmacharya
(b)Samyag-darshana
(c)Sunrita
(d)Asteya

Answer

Why

Correct — B, Samyag-darshana. Jainism's three gems, the triratna or ratnatraya, are samyag-darshana (right faith, or right view), samyag-jnana (right knowledge) and samyak-charitra (right conduct). They are the path to liberation set out at the opening of Umasvati's Tattvartha Sutra, and the tradition insists they work only together: faith without knowledge is blind, knowledge without conduct is idle. Right faith comes first because it is the conviction in the nature of reality that makes the other two possible. The three items that surround it in this question are all genuine Jain terms, which is exactly why the item is not free — but every one of them belongs to a different list. Brahmacharya and asteya are two of the five great vows, the mahavratas, taken by ascetics; sunrita is a term for truthful and kindly speech. Vows govern how a Jain lives. The three gems describe what liberation is built out of.

Why the others are wrong

(a)Brahmacharya — Chastity — the fourth of the five mahavratas, along with ahimsa, satya, asteya and aparigraha. A vow of conduct, not one of the three gems.
(c)Sunrita — Speech that is both true and kindly. It belongs to the discussion of the truth-vow, satya, and is never counted among the ratnatraya.
(d)Asteya — Non-stealing — the third mahavrata. Like brahmacharya, it is a rule of conduct; samyak-charitra, right conduct, is the gem under which such vows sit.

Concept

Jainism sets out liberation as a path of three inseparable elements — the triratna, or three gems. Samyag-darshana is right faith: conviction about the nature of the soul and the world. Samyag-jnana is right knowledge: correct understanding of the Jain categories, free of doubt and error. Samyak-charitra is right conduct: living by the vows, above all ahimsa. Umasvati's Tattvartha Sutra, the earliest Jain work in Sanskrit and accepted by both Digambara and Svetambara sects, opens by naming these three together as the road to moksha.

The item works by mixing two Jain lists that students learn in the same week and then confuse. The five mahavratas — ahimsa (non-injury), satya (truth), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (chastity) and aparigraha (non-possession) — are vows. Ahimsa, satya, asteya and aparigraha come down from the earlier Parshvanatha tradition; Mahavira is credited with adding brahmacharya as a separate fifth. The three gems are not vows at all but the structure of the path itself, and the vows live inside the third of them. If you can keep 'vows are five, gems are three' straight, options (a), (c) and (d) fall away at once. Note also the shape of the stem: it asks for one of the three gems, so a single option must belong to that list and the rest must not — a useful check once you have picked.

Key facts

The triratna of Jainism are samyag-darshana (right faith), samyag-jnana (right knowledge) and samyak-charitra (right conduct).
Umasvati's Tattvartha Sutra opens by naming the three gems together as the path to liberation, and is authoritative for both Digambara and Svetambara sects.
The five mahavratas are ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya and aparigraha; brahmacharya is the one Mahavira is credited with adding to the earlier four of Parshvanatha's tradition.
Right conduct, samyak-charitra, is the gem under which the mahavratas fall — which is why individual vows are never themselves counted as gems.
Buddhism has its own triratna, a different thing entirely: the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha.

Two Jain lists that get mixed up — and where each option belongs

The three gems (triratna)→Samyag-darshana — right faith. Samyag-jnana — right knowledge. Samyak-charitra — right conduct. The structure of the path to liberation.

The five great vows (mahavratas)→Ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya, aparigraha. Rules of conduct — they sit inside the third gem, they are not gems themselves.

Where the wrong options come from→Brahmacharya and asteya are mahavratas. Sunrita is a term for truthful, kindly speech, discussed under the truth-vow.

A different triratna altogether→Buddhism's three jewels are the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha — same label, unrelated content.

Vows are five, gems are three. Only samyag-darshana is on the gems list.

Study next

The Tattvartha Sutra of Umasvati and why both Jain sects accept itThe five mahavratas, and the anuvratas — the lighter versions taken by lay followersParshvanatha's four restraints and Mahavira's addition of brahmacharyaJain epistemology: anekantavada, syadvada and the doctrine of many-sidednessThe Digambara–Svetambara split and what the two sects actually disagree about

Common traps

Answering with a mahavrata because it is a familiar Jain word — the vows are a different list from the gems.
Reaching for Buddhism's three jewels, which share the name triratna but are the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha.
Treating right faith as merely belief; in Jain usage samyag-darshana is conviction about the nature of reality, and it is what makes right knowledge possible.

Either as a direct 'which is one of the three gems' item like this one, or in reverse — naming a list of four and asking which is NOT a mahavrata. Occasionally as a match-the-pairs between Jain terms and their meanings.

Related PYQs

UPSC_2013_GS1_Q42013Open & attempt →

With reference to the history of Indian rock-cut architecture, consider the following statements: 1. The caves at Badami are the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India. 2. The Barabar rock-cut caves were originally made for Ajivikas by Emperor Chandragupta Maurya. 3. At Ellora, caves were made for different faiths. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer(c) 3 only

The wider world of the heterodox sects. Ellora's caves were cut for Buddhists, Hindus and Jains alike, and the Jain group there is among the best surviving evidence of the faith's patronage — the doctrine on this card is what those caves were built to serve.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
The three gems of Jainism, taken together, are held to lead to which one of the following?
- (a)Rebirth in a heavenly realm
- (b)Liberation of the soul (moksha)
- (c)Union with a personal creator god
- (d)Accumulation of merit transferable to others
Answer(b) Liberation of the soul (moksha) — Umasvati's Tattvartha Sutra opens by naming right faith, right knowledge and right conduct together as the path to liberation.
practice — not a real PYQ
Which one of the following is NOT among the five mahavratas of Jainism?
- (a)Aparigraha
- (b)Asteya
- (c)Samyag-jnana
- (d)Ahimsa
Answer(c) Samyag-jnana — right knowledge is one of the three gems, not one of the five great vows. The five are ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya and aparigraha.