The Jain philosophy holds that the world is created and maintained by:

Answer: (a) Universal law

Jainism does not accept a creator God. It treats the universe as eternal and running by its own universal law, so (a) fits best.

• ✓ (a) The world functions by universal law (natural order), not by a creator.
• ✗ (d) A universal soul or creator is the Vedantic view, which Jainism rejects.

Remember · Jainism: no creator God; the universe runs on universal law.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Ch 2 (practise this chapter)

Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2011, General Studies paper. UPSC did not publish an answer key for 2011: the answer shown is the generally accepted one, and the sources above explain the facts behind it. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 24 Oct 2026 (how we verify). · Report an error