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17
The Doctrine of Syadváda : Examination of Different Interpretations
ARVIND SHARMA
Syädväda is a cardinal Jain' doctrine 'to which the Jains attach so much importance that this name frequently is used as a synonym for the Jair system itself. The doctrine is thus often explained in modern expositions of Jainism or Jain phiiosophy. The purpose of this paper is to critically examine some of these presentations.
Il
It is perhaps best to begin by making a brief statement of the doctrine
1. Sometimes the form Jaina is also met with (see R.C. Zachner, ed.. The Concise
Encyclopedia of Living Faiths (Boston : Beacon Press, 1968). p. 261). 2. Hermann Jacobi Jainism' in James Hastings, ed., Encylopedia of Religion and
Ethics VII (New York : Charles Scribner's Sons), p. 468. 3. Mrs Sinclair Stavenson, The history of Jainism (New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal,
1970 (first published 1915). p. 92: M. Hiriyanoa, Outlines of Indian Philosophy (London: Georage Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1932), p. 163 f1: S. Dasgupta, A History of Indian Philosophy Vol. I (Cambride University Press, 1957), p. 179 ff: Malinakshi Dutt, Early Monastic Buddhism (Calcutta: Calcutta Oriential Book Agency, 1960). pp. 31-32: P.T. Raju, The P!uilosophical Traditions of India (University of Pittsburg Press, 1971). p. 100: S. Gopalan, Outlines of Jainism (New York : Halsted Press, 1973). p. 151 ff: Wm. Theodore de Bary, ed., Sources of Indian Tradition, Vol. I (Columbia (niversity Press, 1958), pp. 70-71: Kalidas Bhattacharyya, ed., The Cultural llerilu 2 of India, Vol. I (Calcutta : The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, 1958). pp. 428-429; Chandradhar Shrama. A crtical Survey of Indian Philosophy (London : Rider & Company. 1960) p. 51.
