In the Dravyasamgraha, jiva is presented as a fundamental substance whose very essence is consciousness. It is a sentient reality, distinct from non-living substances, and is characterized by the manifestation of awareness in the forms of knowledge and perception. This conscious nature is not accidental or secondary; it is the defining mark that sets jiva apart from matter and the other non-sentient categories of existence. As such, jiva is the locus in which knowing and experiencing take place, the center where awareness is gathered and expressed.

The text further portrays jiva as both agent and experiencer: it is the doer of actions and the one who undergoes their results. In this capacity, the soul bears the fruits of its own karmic activity, tasting both happiness and suffering. Worldly existence is thus understood as the soul’s wandering under the influence of karmic bondage, which veils and constrains its inherent capacities for knowledge and perception. Yet this condition is not final, for the same conscious substance that becomes bound also possesses the potential to be free.

A significant feature of the Dravyasamgraha’s account is the distinction between liberated and worldly souls. Liberated jivas are entirely free from karmic association, having realized their pure state in which consciousness is unobstructed. Worldly jivas, by contrast, remain entangled with karmic matter and are described in terms of varying degrees of development and sensory capacity. Despite these differences in condition and embodiment, the underlying conscious nature of jiva remains constant and unbroken.

The relationship between soul and body is treated as one of instrument and user rather than identity. Jiva employs the body as a vehicle for experience and action, yet it is never reducible to the bodily form it inhabits. It is said to contract or expand in accordance with the body, while retaining its essential character as consciousness. When all karmic veils are removed, this same jiva stands forth in its own nature, characterized by unobstructed knowledge, perception, and bliss, revealing what was always latent within the conscious substance itself.