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INTRODUCTION
the
treatment of this subject. Among these three authors Samanta-Bhadra, first of all discusses some of the external peculiarities that are regarded popularly as the characteristics of an Apta, and after refuting all these peculiarities, finally settles upon the quality of Vita- Raga, that is passionlessness as the highest standard of a true Apta. This quality, according to Samanta Bhadra, is found only in Jaina-Tirthankara and in nobody else1. In order to establish this authority of a Tirthankara, he introduces the doctrine of Anekanta as the highest sort of preaching of Mahavira and adjusts in it the philosophy of Jainism. Vidyananda, on his part, adopts the same line of argument as that of Samanta-Bhadra, but refutes idea of an Apta, as is found in the system of Nyaya which regards God as an Apta, the idea of Purusa of the Sankhya and the idea of Sugata that is Buddha in Buddhism. Next he refutes A pauruşeyatva of the Vedas advocated by the Mimaṁsakas and proves the fallacy of the doctrine of the absence of an Omniscient person. Vidyananda, thus, while launching on this discussion of Apta refutes in details all the rival doctrines, one by one. Siddhasena naming them takes this very theme in his sixth Dwa, but has a different manner of dealing with it. He, first of all, says that the chief hindrance, in recognizing Mahavira as the highest Apta is the tendency of the people in general of adhering to old things and the tendency of regarding every old thing as being absolutely true. This conservatism, or rather orthodoxy, he tries to analyse first of all and by a very
1 Vide Apta Mimamsă verses 1-7.
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