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Origin and Development of The Theory of Anekānta
The doctrine of anekāntavāda finds the most important place in Jainism and on this very foundation other doctrines of the Jain philosophy are built up. From the historical point of view, Jainism is proved to be a very ancient religion of the world, originated and developed on the Indian soil. There is no denying the fact that every doctrine originates and develops in the heart of society. The doctrine of anekānta is not an exception to this. While explaining the origin and development of anekānta, my exposition will be based mostly on the available Prākrta and Saṁskrta materials on Jain philosophy. But in reconstructing the history of the anekāntavāda occassional help will be taken from the canonical literature of Jainism as well as Buddhism. For better explaintion of the development of anekānta, the classifications of four periods as accepted by Dalsukha Malavaniya in ‘Āgam yuga kā Jain darśana' is taken into consideration.
The development of literature of Jaina philosophy can be classified into four periods. They are :
1. The Period of Āgamas (Before Vikram 470-Vikram
500) : The period near about one thousand years
after the liberation of Bhagavān Mahāvīra. 2. The Period of Establishment of Anekānta (5th cent. -
gth cent. A.D.).
Pandita Dalsukha Malavaniya. Āgam Yuga Ke Jaina Darśana. Jaipur: Prakrit Bhārti Academy, 1990, p. 35.
