The 22 Pariṣahas (बाईस परीषह) are the 22 hardships or afflictions that a spiritual practitioner should endure without generating rāga (attachment) or dveṣa (aversion).

They are a practical training in Titikṣā (forbearance).

Purpose: The hardship itself is not the obstacle. The obstacle is the reaction (anger, fear, greed, ego, despair) that creates fresh Mohanīya karma.

The 22 Pariṣahas

Underlying Principle

All 22 can be grouped into four broad categories:

1. Physical Hardships

• Hunger

• Thirst

• Heat

• Cold

• Disease

• Insect bites

• Thorns

• Dirt

• Walking

• Sitting

• Sleeping

Training: Endure bodily discomfort without aversion.

2. Social Hardships

• Insults

• Assault

• Begging

• Rejection

• Honour/Dishonour

Training: Weaken ego and pride.

3. Psychological Hardships

• Boredom

• Sensual temptation

• Lack of possessions

Training: Overcome attachment and craving.

4. Intellectual & Spiritual Hardships

• Pride in knowledge

• Ignorance

• Lack of spiritual progress

Training: Cultivate humility and perseverance.

Relation to Mohanīya Karma

Each Pariṣaha is essentially a trigger for Mohanīya karma.

Hardship
      ↓
Mohanīya Udaya
      ↓
Choice

Reaction (Rāga/Dveṣa)
        ↓
New Bandha

OR

Titikṣā (Equanimity)
        ↓
Samvara
        ↓
Nirjarā

This is why Acharya Mahapragya introduces Titikṣā immediately after discussing karmic fruition: hardships are inevitable, but whether they strengthen or weaken Mohanīya karma depends on your response.

Where to study in detail

If you want a deep understanding with traditional commentary, look at:

• Uttarādhyayana Sūtra – Chapter 2 (Parīṣaha-jaya, Victory over Hardships)

• Tattvārtha Sūtra – Chapter 9 (lists and discusses the 22 Pariṣahas)

• Traditional commentaries by Umāsvāti and later Jain ācāryas on Pariṣaha-jaya.

Parishaha: Enduring Hardship Without Inner Disturbance

Central Theme: Parishaha are hardships or adverse conditions that arise during spiritual life. Their purpose is not merely to suffer or tolerate pain, but to remain free from raga, dwesh and kashaya while facing them. The hardship becomes spiritually useful when the external discomfort does not produce internal disturbance.

Basic idea

• Parishaha = hardships, afflictions or adverse conditions that test spiritual stability.

• There are 22 Parishahas traditionally described.

• They are especially relevant to sadhus and sadhvis because ascetic life deliberately removes many comforts and exposes them to physical and social difficulties.

• But the underlying principle applies to householders as well.

• The key distinction is:

  • Hardship alone does not destroy karma.

  • Hardship + kashaya can create new karma bandhan.

  • Hardship + samata prevents fresh bondage and supports nirjara.

• Therefore:

  • External suffering is the condition.

  • Internal reaction is the real spiritual test.

• Parishaha is closely connected with Parishaha Jaya:

  • Parishaha = the hardship encountered.

  • Jaya = victory over it.

  • Victory does not necessarily mean removing the hardship.

  • Victory means the hardship fails to disturb the soul's equanimity.

Cause -> effect relationship

• Adverse situation -> body and mind experience discomfort.

• Discomfort -> tendency toward reaction.

• Reaction through raga, dwesh, krodh, maan, maya or lobh -> new karma bandhan.

• Remaining aware and equanimous -> reduced or absent kashaya -> samvar.

• Existing karma continues to exhaust through its experience -> nirjara can take place.

• Therefore the spiritual objective is not:

  • "I should never experience hunger, pain or insult."

• It is:

  • "When hunger, pain or insult arise, they should not be able to convert into inner agitation and fresh bondage."

• This matters because karma may bring the experience, but our present bhava determines how we respond to it.

The 22 Parishahas

• Kshudha Parishaha - Hunger

  • Enduring hunger without becoming disturbed or abandoning spiritual discipline.

  • Cause -> bodily deprivation.

  • Risk -> irritation, craving and loss of restraint.

  • Victory -> hunger is experienced, but does not dominate bhava.

• Pipasa Parishaha - Thirst

  • Enduring thirst without mental agitation.

  • The difficulty is not merely physical thirst but the urge to immediately satisfy it.

  • Practice -> distinguishing bodily sensation from the soul's conscious state.

• Shita Parishaha - Cold

  • Enduring cold without aversion or anger.

  • Cold -> unpleasant sensation -> dwesh.

  • Parishaha Jaya means breaking this automatic chain.

• Ushna Parishaha - Heat

  • Enduring excessive heat without inner disturbance.

  • Heat is external.

  • The suffering produced through resistance and aversion is a separate inner process.

• Damsha Mashaka Parishaha - Insect bites

  • Enduring bites or disturbances caused by insects.

  • Important particularly for ahimsa because the natural reaction may be to kill or violently remove the insect.

  • Hardship -> irritation -> violent impulse.

  • Samata interrupts this movement.

• Nagna Parishaha - Lack of clothing

  • Connected primarily with ascetic conditions and freedom from dependence on bodily covering or social comfort.

  • More specifically relevant to traditions and ascetic practices involving complete renunciation.

• Arati Parishaha - Discontent or lack of interest

  • Arati refers to inner restlessness, dissatisfaction or inability to remain settled.

  • One may not face physical pain but may feel bored, dissatisfied or mentally resistant.

  • This is important because spiritual practice is often disturbed not by pain but by the mind's constant search for stimulation.

• Stri Parishaha - Attraction toward women

  • In the traditional ascetic classification, this refers to enduring the disturbance created by sexual attraction without losing celibacy and restraint.

  • For broader understanding, the underlying principle is resistance to sexual desire and attachment.

• Charya Parishaha - Difficulty of movement

  • Enduring fatigue and hardship associated with walking or continuous movement.

  • Particularly relevant to wandering ascetic life.

• Nishadya Parishaha - Difficulty in sitting

  • Remaining steady despite discomfort arising from prolonged sitting.

  • Physical discomfort -> urge to change position -> loss of steadiness.

  • Relevant to meditation and disciplined practice.

• Shayya Parishaha - Difficulty related to resting or sleeping place

  • Enduring uncomfortable sleeping or resting conditions.

  • The principle is freedom from excessive dependence on physical comfort.

• Akrosha Parishaha - Abuse and verbal insult

  • Enduring harsh words without anger or retaliation.

  • This is one of the clearest examples where:

    • External cause = someone insults.

    • Karma bandhan is not inevitable.

    • Internal reaction determines whether krodh and dwesh arise.

• Vadho Parishaha - Physical assault

  • Enduring physical injury or attack without hatred or desire for revenge.

  • This does not mean that Jain ethics requires a householder to passively permit every preventable harm.

  • The ascetic ideal here is specifically about the internal conquest of dwesh under suffering.

• Yachana Parishaha - Difficulty in seeking alms

  • Enduring the difficulty of asking for food or necessities.

  • Includes overcoming ego, embarrassment and disappointment.

• Alabha Parishaha - Not obtaining what is sought

  • Seeking permissible food or other necessities but not receiving them.

  • Desire -> expectation -> non-attainment -> disappointment or anger.

  • Parishaha Jaya = accepting non-attainment without disturbance.

• Roga Parishaha - Illness

  • Enduring disease without allowing suffering to produce excessive mental disturbance.

  • Physical illness and spiritual reaction are not identical.

  • The body may suffer while equanimity remains possible.

• Trina Sparsha Parishaha - Contact with grass or rough surfaces

  • Enduring discomfort caused by rough or unpleasant contact.

  • Demonstrates the broader principle that even small bodily discomforts can trigger aversion.

• Mala Parishaha - Dirt or impurity

  • Enduring bodily uncleanliness or unpleasant physical conditions without excessive aversion.

  • Important in ascetic life where bodily decoration and constant maintenance are abandoned.

• Satkara Puraskara Parishaha - Lack of respect or honour

  • Enduring neglect, disrespect or absence of recognition.

  • This directly tests maan and the desire for social validation.

  • No honour -> injured ego -> anger or sadness.

  • Parishaha Jaya = self remains unaffected by whether honour is received.

• Prajna Parishaha - Intellectual or cognitive difficulty

  • Enduring situations where one's knowledge, intelligence or understanding is insufficient, challenged or not recognised.

  • It tests attachment to intellectual superiority.

  • The deeper issue is not ignorance itself but identification with "I am knowledgeable."

• Ajnana Parishaha - Lack of knowledge

  • Enduring the difficulty of not knowing or not understanding.

  • Can produce frustration, inferiority or resistance.

  • Spiritual relevance -> ignorance should become a reason for inquiry, not agitation.

• Adarshana Parishaha - Absence of spiritual vision or discouragement regarding the path

  • Enduring periods where spiritual insight, confidence or uplifting experience appears absent.

  • One may feel: "My practice is not working."

  • The test is whether temporary obscurity leads to abandoning samyam and spiritual effort.

Parishaha are not just physical suffering

• A weak interpretation is to see all Parishahas as tests of bodily endurance.

• That misses a major part of the framework.

• The 22 include difficulties arising from:

  • Physical deprivation

  • Climate and environment

  • Bodily pain

  • Sexual attraction

  • Social insult

  • Lack of respect

  • Failure to obtain something

  • Illness

  • Intellectual limitation

  • Spiritual discouragement

• Therefore Parishaha covers a broader pattern:

  • Something undesirable occurs.

  • The mind labels it as unacceptable.

  • Raga or dwesh begins.

  • Spiritual practice means preventing that reaction from becoming kashaya.

Parishaha vs simply suppressing pain

• Parishaha Jaya should not be reduced to:

  • "I am suffering but pretending that I am fine."

• Suppression can still contain:

  • Dwesh

  • Anger

  • Frustration

  • Ego about being able to endure

• For example:

  • "I will show everyone how much pain I can tolerate" can itself become maan.

  • "I hate this suffering but I will force myself through it" may still contain dwesh.

• The deeper ideal is:

  • Sensation may remain.

  • Pain may remain.

  • Awareness of difficulty may remain.

  • But the compulsive identification and emotional reaction gradually weaken.

Relationship with Samvar and Nirjara

• Parishaha creates a situation where previously bound karma may come into experience.

• If the soul reacts with kashaya:

  • Old karma is being experienced.

  • Simultaneously, new karma can be bound.

• If the soul remains in samata:

  • The experience is undergone without the same level of fresh bondage.

  • Samvar becomes possible.

  • Existing karma can continue toward exhaustion or nirjara.

• Simplified flow:

  • Uday of adverse karma -> hardship

  • Hardship + moha -> raga/dwesh -> new bandhan

  • Hardship + samata -> reduced bandhan -> samvar

  • Enduring existing karmic experience without fresh attachment/aversion -> supports nirjara

Why Parishaha matters in this chapter of spiritual practice

• Comfort is not the only obstacle to spiritual progress.

• Our dependence on comfort is also an obstacle.

• As long as equanimity depends upon favourable conditions, samata remains conditional.

• Parishaha tests whether spiritual understanding survives when conditions become unfavourable.

• The real progression is:

  • "I am peaceful because everything is fine."

  • -> This is conditional peace.

  • "Something unpleasant happened, but I can remain aware."

  • -> This begins spiritual stability.

  • "Pleasant and unpleasant conditions no longer automatically control my bhava."

  • -> This moves toward deeper samata.

Practical relevance for a householder

• A householder is not expected to artificially create extreme hardships or imitate monastic austerities.

• The practical application is to use naturally occurring Parishahas as practice material.

• Examples:

  • Hunger because a meal is delayed -> observe craving before reacting.

  • Heat, traffic or discomfort -> notice dwesh arising.

  • Someone insults you -> separate their action from your anger.

  • Recognition is not received -> observe maan and expectation.

  • Something you wanted is unavailable -> observe attachment behind disappointment.

  • Illness or physical discomfort -> distinguish bodily pain from the additional mental resistance.

  • Meditation becomes boring -> recognise Arati rather than immediately escaping into stimulation.

• The principle is:

  • Do not unnecessarily seek suffering.

  • Do not automatically escape every minor discomfort.

  • Use unavoidable discomfort to study where attachment and aversion arise.

The deeper test

• Parishaha Jaya is ultimately a test of whether external conditions still govern internal bhava.

• The chain to observe is:

  • Parishaha -> Vedana -> perception -> reaction -> kashaya -> bandhan

• Spiritual practice attempts to introduce awareness between:

  • Vedana -> reaction

• This is why Parishaha is closely related to:

  • Samvar

  • Nirjara

  • Samata

  • Kashay

  • Vedaniya Karma

  • Titiksha

  • Apramada

• The central takeaway:

  • Parishaha does not purify merely because it hurts.

  • It becomes spiritually effective when hardship is endured without allowing raga, dwesh and kashaya to take control of bhava.