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Preface
Jaina canon. It is treated at length by way of an independent treatise by Vimaladāsa in Saptabhangitarańgini and by Dāgavijaya Gani in Saptabhangiprakarana.
The exegetical literature pertaining to the Jaina canon elucidates and gives us further details about the seeds of the Jaina philosophy scattered in the field of the Jaina canon. The Nijjuttis of Bhadrabāhusvāmin deserve special mention, for they throw light on the Jaina view about soul, knowledge and ahirnsă and prepare a solid foundation for the edifice of the “ Jaina logic" having three pillars in pramaņas, nayas and nirşepas.
The authorship of Dasaveyaliya-nijutti is attributed to Bhadrabāhusvāmin who lived between 433 B. C. and 357 B. C. In this work in v. 50, he has clearly referred to a five-membered syllogism. In v. 137, he has noted the names of the ten members of the syllogism, and in v. 138-148 he has given a demonstration of this as applied to ahimsa. So this shows that at least by his time logic had attained an eminent status in the field of the Jaina literature. That logic was slowly but surely attacking and encroaching upon the sacred province of verbal authority, is fully reflected in the monumental works of Siddhasena Divakara. He resorted to logic for examining the statement of scriptural authorities instead of establishing their consistency by logic, and thus he upset the tenet of the school that used to reject pure reasoning as mere speculation when it was not supported by scriptures. Thus logic was not assigned a secondary place to the agamas by him as
1 There are two types of persons practioally in every school of religious thought. Some lay speoial stress upon scriptural authority and others on reason, Both are anxious to resort to logic (tarka ), but the former allow logic free scope only so far as it does not come into confliot with their scriptures, whereas others want to push forth logic even to the extent of questioning the soriptural authority, provided it satisfies reason. Thus some are for āgamānusāri-tarka while others for tarkānusāri-āgama. It appears that the former group of persons, though prior in existence, lose their ground especially when attacked by heterodox agholars. Thereupon this group resorts to logio for defending its principles and attacking those of their opponents. This necessity coupled with the composition of Nyāysutra and later on that of Madhyamāvatāra by Nāgārjuna seem to have forced the Jaina saints to give up to some extent their agamānusāri-tarka attitude and to enter the field of logio. . Consequently eminent Jaina writers like Siddhasa Diy Skara composed works like Nyāyāvatāra and laid firm foundations of Jaina logia.