Disclaimer: This translation does not guarantee complete accuracy, please confirm with the original page text.
## Introduction to the Text
These *Vārtikas* were composed by Vidyānanda Ācārya. They are written in the style of *Vārtikas* and are called *Vārtikas*. *Vārtikas* address three types of meanings: what is said, what is not said, and what is said incorrectly. This is evident from the definition of *Vārtikas* as propounded by Śrī Hemacandra Ācārya:
"A *Vārtika* is that which considers the meaning of what is said, what is not said, and what is said incorrectly."
Due to this, the size of *Vārtika* commentaries is often larger than the original commentaries. For example, the *Rāja Vārtika* is larger than the *Sarvārthasiddhi*, and the *Śloka Vārtika* is larger than the *Rāja Vārtika*.
If Samantabhadra's commentary on the *Tattvārthasūtra* was indeed 84,000 or 96,000 verses long, as is claimed, then the *Vārtika* commentaries of Akalankadeva and Vidyānanda should have been larger. However, they are significantly smaller. This leads to the conclusion that either Samantabhadra did not write such a commentary on the *Tattvārthasūtra* - the commentary he wrote on the *Siddhāntagrantha* is likely what is called the "Gandhahasti Mahābhāṣya" - or that it was lost before the time of Akalankadeva and Vidyānanda, and was not available to them.
1. A rule which explains what is said or but imperfectly said and supplies omissions.
- V. S. Apte's dictionary.
2. It is not implied that the size of other types of commentaries or *ṭīkās* (commentaries) different from *Vārtika* commentaries also increases. They can be as small as they need to be.