Somnolent Stras Sriptural Cmmentary In Svetambara Jainism

SR No.: 269690
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Paul Dundas
Publisher: Paul Dundas
Total Pages: 29
Language: English
Classification: Article
File Size: 4 MB

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86
PAUL DUNDAS
cow without feeding it grass, 83 while those heretics who base their interpretation of Jainism on the sūtras alone are described as trying to drink milk from a dead cow.84
Dharmasāgara's most sustained treatment of the methods of scriptural hermeneutics in Jainism is to be found in his treatise "One Hundred Verses on Rules for Interpreting the Sūtras” (Sūtravyākhyānavidhisataka; henceforth SVVS).85 This work derives much of its hermeneutic technique from the Anuyogadvārāņi. In common with it, the SVVS regards the Āvasyaka Sūtra as the model for scripture as a whole and commences by asserting the primacy of its opening portion, the Sāmāyika, over all other sūtras. 86 Dharmasāgara then goes on to refer to an old, canonical list of qualities, possession of which serves to define a proper scriptural text, 87 the first two of which, "small extent" (appaggamtha; Sanskrit alpagrantha) and "voluminous meaning" (mahattha; Sanskrit mahārtha) are of major importance for establishing the necessity of commentary, for "by mentioning these two qualities the various types of commentary (niryukti, bhāsya, cūrni etc.) are to be understood, since the commentaries constitute the meaning of the sūtras (teşām eva sūtrārtharūpatvāt)."88
That correct interpretation of the Jain scriptures is dependent upon properly constituted teacher-pupil succession is established by Dharmasāgara by reference to the concept of adhikāra. This well known term, whose earliest occurrence is in Vedic literature where it has the sense of both the ability and the desire to recite the Veda and is usually translated, by "right" or "authority," has recently been shown by Lariviere to have broader connotations corresponding to “responsibility" and "obligation" which fit well with the standard Jain view of a teacher's adhikāra as not merely entitling him to interpret the scriptures but obliging him to do so as well.89 For Dharmasāgara, the teacher's adhikāra to interpret the meaning of the sūtras lies in his ascetic restraint. But this adhikāra is twofold, since it also requires a skilful and competent pupil, that is, one who has received proper ascetic initiation, to hear and understand the correct meaning expounded by such a qualified teacher. The necessity of this interpretative interchange ensures that Dharmasăgara can dispose of a whole range of Jain sectarian groups on the grounds of their being inspired by self-appointed lay or quasi-monastic teachers who have no entitlement to inititiate followers. Dharmasāgara warns that the destruction of Jainism will come about through the promulgation of what he calls pustakasiddhānta, a version of the religion which is based on the sūtras alone, or some sort of reworking (anuvāda) of them, and does not derive from the exegesis carried out by the only