Book Title: Aspect of Jainology Part 3 Pandita Dalsukh Malvaniya
Author(s): M A Dhaky, Sagarmal Jain
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith

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Page 549
________________ 224 Nagin J. Shah contaminated by matter; while from the standpoint of the worldly behaviour it is involved in karma as well as in the birth and rebirth cycle. As to viewing the niscaya-vyavahāra pair in more than one ways is possible, the procedure adopted by Kundakunda was not totally impermissible. But what was un-Jaina like was Kundakunda's declaration that the standpoint of worldly behaviour is a totally false standpoint.19 In his Pañcāstikāya he mentions the fullfledged seven avayavas or bhangas of Saptabharge. Samantabhadra ( C.A.D. 550-625 : Dhaky's dating ) laid a firm foundation of Anekāntavāda upon which Akalanka (active C. A. D. 725-780 ). Vidyānanda and Yasovijaya ( 17th cent. A. D.) built a grand super-structure. Samantabhadra's Antamimāṁsā deserves a special mention in the history of Anekanta philosophy for more reasons than one. The framework worked out in the Apta-mimārsā for criticising onesided philosophical views proved to be a major helpful model for subsequent authors. Certainly, the task of the Jaina thinkers belonging to the later times was to command mastery over the contemporary systems of philosophy and subject them to criticism ( and computation ) mainly in terms of the model provided by the Apramimārsā. The work has a good fortune of being commented upon by Aka. lanka, Vidyānanda and Yośovijaya It is meritorious inasmuch as the fundamentáls of Anekāntavāda have found in it the clearest formulation. 'Samantabhadra had a clear consciousness of what constitutes the central contention of the doctrine of Anekāota, namely that a thing must be characterised by two mutually contradictory features at one and the same time. He also realised that the doctrine was applicable rather universally : that is to say, he felt that taking anything and any feature at random it could be shown that this thing is characterised by this feature as also by the concerned contradictory feature. .. Another aspect of Samantabhadra's performance also deserves notice. He apparently attaches utmost importance to the Saptabhangi doctrine and in fact makes it the starting point of his investigation in the Aptamimāṁsā)."'20 Again, what is noteworthy is his attributing the name 'naya' to each of the seven bhangas as also the denomination "syādvāda' to the totality of all the seven bhangas. Haribhadra's Anekāntajayapat ākā (C. A. D. 770 ) is a much advanced text as compared to the Aptamimarsā; but, for the most part, it adopts the latter's model while arranging its material. It is chiefly interested in vindicating the validity of Anekāntavāda. As is expected, Akalanka's most crystal-like and concentrated enunciation and defence of Anekāntavāda occurs in his Astasati, a commentary on the Aptamima. mā. Here he elaborately deals with the most fundamental philosophical views centring around the acceptance or otherwise of two contradictory features. His discussions constitute the first most comprehensive and mature vindication of Anekāntavāda. This is so, because, in them he was taken into consideration the rival positions as actually maintained in the contemporary works of various non-Jaina Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org

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