Which of the following statements is/are applicable to Jain doctrine? 1. The surest way of annihilating Karma is to practice penance. 2. Every objects, even the smallest particle has a soul. 3. Karma is the bane of the soul and must be ended. Select the correct answer using the codes given below.

The correct answer is D. All three statements reflect core Jain doctrine.

• Statement 1 is correct. Jainism holds that karmic particles bind to the soul and keep it in samsara. Their removal happens through samvara (stopping new inflow) and nirjara (shedding existing karma), and tapasya, or penance, is the most powerful means of nirjara.
• Statement 2 is correct. Jainism is animistic in outlook. Every living being, including one-sensed beings like plants and earth-bodies, possesses a jiva. The doctrine of ahimsa rests on the idea that even the smallest particle carries life.
• Statement 3 is correct. Bondage through karma is the central problem in Jain thought. Moksha means the soul, freed of karmic matter, attains its natural state of infinite knowledge, perception and bliss.

Core concept: the jiva-ajiva dualism and the mechanism of karmic bondage and liberation, which also form the basis of Jain ethics. For Mains GS-I, link it to ahimsa, anekantavada and practices like sallekhana within the wider Indian philosophical traditions.

Trap: Students often reject statement 2 as too extreme and pick B or C. Remember that Jain animism extends the soul to all matter, not just to living beings in the ordinary sense.