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1. Sarvārthasiddhi. Ācārya Pūjyapāda has written this commentary in 5th century A.D. This
is a very balanced commentary. All the aspects are and topics are covered in a simple manner and the later on ācāryas have kept it intact and present it as it is. The following sūtra expounds Pūjyapāda's art of writing:
Pramāņakalaskasya Pujyapādasya laksaņas Dhananjayakaverkavyas ratnatrayamapaścimall1
2. Tattvārthavārtika: Ācārya Akalanka has written this commentary in 7th century A.D. In this
commentary the author has help of previous commentaries and then he has elaborated those and written his commentary. At several places he has given interesting stories and
anecdotes. 3. Tattvārtha-ślokavārtika: Ācārya Vidyānandi has written this commentary in 8th century
A.D. This is a detailed commentary. 4. Tattvārthādhigama-sūtra-bhāşya: The above three commentaries are written by the
Digambara authors. But this is a Svetāmbara commentary. It is believed that the Umāsvāti himself has written this commentary.
What ever may be the case, it is necessary to read and understand the commentaries to know the Tattvārtha-sūtra. The above commentaries are sufficient enough to know and read.
2.0 The content of Tattvärtha-sūtra : We have discussed the external matter of the text. Now we will discuss the actual content of the text, which is very important from the point of Jaina philosophy. The external content is important for the historical and the social point of view. But from logical, philosophical and spiritual point of view one need not entangle in the above controversies.
2.1 Mangalācarana (Benediction): To begin any good work it is necessary to evoke good saying of blessings and all the literary works have so. In all the works they evoke the ista-devatā and worship them in the benediction. In Tattvārtha-sūtra 2 the following mangalācarana is found:
Dhananjayanāmamāla 203 2 Grddhapichcha Ācārya Pranita, Shri Ganesh Varni Jain (Sodh ) Sansthan, Naria, Varanasi
STUDY NOTES version 5.0
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