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The affiliation is with the Sangha. To date, there is no known branch named Uchhanagar within the Digambara tradition. Even if the figure of Umāsvāti, acknowledged as a disciple of Kundakunda in the Digambara tradition, is indeed a historical person, the belief that he authored the Tattvārtha-sūtra seems to be a later invention due to the lack of reliable evidence.
The third point mentioned disproves the likelihood of a connection between Umāsvāti and Śyāmācārya, as Umāsvāti, referring to himself as Kaubhīṣaṇa, claims his gotra to be 'Kaubhīṣaṇa', while Śyāmācārya, depicted as a guru in the lineage, is said to have the gotra 'Hārita' in the traditional account. Furthermore, the prashasti clearly refers to Umāsvāti as 'Vācaka', whereas the term Vācaka does not appear with the name 'Swāti' associated with Śyāmācārya or his guru lineage in the documented texts. Thus, this prashasti refutes the confounding notions of Digambara and Śvetāmbara traditions while presenting a concise yet accurate historical account of the author.
(a) There is no mention of the time of Vācaka Umāsvāti in the aforementioned prashasti, nor has any other means of accurately determining the time been found. In this situation, consideration can be given to the following factors: 1. Branch indications, 2. The time of the earliest commentators, and 3. Comparisons with other philosophical texts.
1. The 'Uchchaigarashākhā' mentioned in the prashasti pertains to Kanikalō,
1. See - Śvāmī Samantabhadra, pp. 158 onwards, and the appendix of the present introduction.
2. See - the comments on p. 2 and the appendix of the present introduction. 2. Hāriyaguttaṁ sāi ca vandiṁo hāriyaṁ ca sāmajjaṁ. || 26 ||
- Nandisūtra, Stavirāvalī, p. 49.