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Contribution of Ācārya Umāsvāti to the Concept of Existence 131 'five astikāyas are absolute truth because their existence is neither created by our consciousness nor do they depend on each other for their existence, but they exist independently.15 ... The soul in its bounded form represents relative truth whereas in its liberated form its existence is absolute ... (Similarly). An insentient being is a relative truth in its dependent form whereas in its independent form it represents absolute truth'.16
Comprehensive View of the Jainas As we have already said, Ācārya Umāsvāti deals with the transitory aspect of existence under two heads: (i) origination (ii) destruction, respectively, calling them utpannāstika and paryāyāstika. There is a famous philosophical doctrine called ‘ajātivāda' which holds that all origination is just as illusion; nothing originates in reality. Ācārya Umāsvāti refutes this by accepting the existence of origination. Destruction and origination being two sides of the same coin, destruction is as real as origination. This is accepted by Ācārya Umāsvāti under the fourth category of existence that is paryāyāstika.17
It may be noted that here change is bifurcated into two; origination and destruction. In the 'Brahmasūtra' also change is bifurcated into the same two categories under the name of birth (janma) and destruction (pralaya). Sankarācārya points out that these two along with continuity include the six modifications enumerated in the ‘Nirukta’: jāyate, asti, vardhate, vipariņamate, apakṣīyate and vinaśyati.18
Conclusion To conclude, treatment of existence by Ācārya Umāsvāti in his works is quite illuminating in the following sense: 1. Ācārya Umāsvāti is the first to give the definition of
existence according to Jain view. 2. Existence in its undifferentiated form is one.
