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The Original Text of Tattvartha Sutra
It is very difficult to say which version of the Tattvartha Sutra is the original one existing in both traditions. If we think away from communal sentiments, this question becomes historically significant. The Tattvartha Sutra is a work from the end of the Agamic period. Soon after that, the Jain community, coming from the North, certainly divided into the Shvetambara and Digambara sects, concentrated in the West and South. Significant changes occurred in the Tattvartha Sutra and its commentaries in the South, which are available at this time in the form of Digambara text and Sarvarthasiddhi. Thus, the Tattvartha Sutra stands at a turning point in the history of Jainism from where it suddenly influenced both traditions. The difficulty is that there is often a lack of authentic evidence to resolve this complex issue. An attempt is being made to address this solution from the following three aspects: 1. Linguistic changes, 2. Deletion of verses in each version, and 3. Doctrinal differences. It would be apt to say here that primarily the latter two means have been utilized in resolving this problem, but they have not proven to be completely adequate for a rational decision. It is surprising that linguistic studies have also not proven to be particularly useful, although this means is the most authentic. It seems necessary to point out here that one of our problems is also regarding its commentary. Whether it is self-evident or not is not the focus of this study, as it itself is a significant issue and can be written about independently.
We will initiate this discussion by examining the linguistic changes found in both versions of the Tattvartha Sutra. For this, the relevant verses have been classified into different categories based on their characteristics, and they have been evaluated on the basis of where...