Riddhi vs Vidya
From the previous discussion of Riddhi, we have clearly understood that Riddhis are miraculous super-natural powers that are attained by great Jain Saints as a result of their extreme austerity. But, we have often heard about super-natural powers possessed by normal humans as well in our Epics!
E.g.
- Lord Hanuman had the power increase and decrease his body size and can fly in air
- Indra possesses powers as equivalent to hundreds of thousands of airavat elephants etc.
- Heavenly beings and Hellish beings can change their body shapes as per their will
- Chakravarti can clone into thousands of same bodies
What are these powers if not Riddhis?
They powers are called Vidyas. They are possessed by many beings from different factors like their body types, heredity, learning etc. and not from austerity. The humans residing in the cities on the Vijyardh Mountain are known as Vidyadhars and they possess some special Vidyas.
Let us see difference between Riddhi and Vidya:
| Riddhi | Vidya |
|---|---|
| By the virtue of extreme austerity, Riddhis are attained without any other dependent factor. | Vidya is not attained by itself. |
| Only attained by Riddhi-dhari Muniraj | Attained by Vidyadhars. |
| The Muniraj (Saint) who possesses Riddhi are called 'Rishi' | The humans who possess Vidyas are called 'Vidyadhars' |
| Riddhi-dhari Muniraj are prayed | Vidyadhars are not prayed |
| There is no owner of a Riddhi | There is an owner of a Vidya |
| Having Riddhi is connected to the purity of soul | Having Vidya is not connected to soul's purity |
| Riddhi is attained after attaining Monkhood (becoming a Saint) | If a Vidyadhar wants to become a saint, then they have to renounce their Vidyas as well |
| Riddhis are only attained by Sanyamis (one who has taken Vrat, Niyams etc.) | Vidyas can be attained by Sanyami or Asanyamis both |
| Riddhi has no dependency on family, hereditary, tool etc. | Vidya is dependent on family, heredity or tool to develop it |
| Riddhi is a lot much more powerful than Vidya | Vidya is a lot much weaker than Riddhi |
| There are no rules for Riddhi | There are rules for Vidya |
| Riddhi is not Parigrah (accession) | Vidya is Parigrah (accession) |