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Karmic Bondage and Kasāyas: A Re-examination of 'Umāsvāti's Jainism'
KRISTI L. WILEY
In surveying the various Jaina texts that have been written over the centuries, it is fitting to describe the Tattvārthasūtra— to quote Dr. L. M. Singhvi's Foreword to Dr. Nathmal Tatia's English translation of this text-as 'an ancient magnum opus .. . a compact cosmic essay on cognition and conduct, a synthesis of science and ethics in the framework of philosophy' which, along with its commentaries, is 'the most precious treasure of Jaina sacred literature'.' This corpus of literature has attracted the attention of numerous scholars and is the basis of many modern-day works on Jainism that explain in the vernaculars of India, and more recently of other countries as well, the ancient truths preserved here. Its continued appeal over the many centuries since its composition, I believe, is based on its masterful organization and elegant style, which render the complexities of the Jaina world-view into a form that is more easily accessible to a diverse audience than many of the other religious texts composed at this time. This becomes apparent when one reads the lucid and concise presentation in the Tattvārthasūtra of bondage (bandha) of the soul by karma, a subject that has been proclaimed to be the most complex, and sometimes reverberative, area of its scholarly literature'.?
