Central Philosophy of Jainism Anekanta Vada

Author(s): Bimal Krishna Matilal, Nagin J Shah, Dalsukh Malvania
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

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The Central Philosophy of Jainism
"There are just as many nayavādas (standpoints) as there are ways of putting a (philosophic) proposition. There are also as many nayas as there are views of the non-Jaina philosophers."
I have already discussed briefly Siddhasena's six-fold classification of nayas on standpoints. But traditionally the Jainas accept a seven-fold classification. Tattvärtha-sutra 1.34 mentions five kinds of standpoints. However, sutra 1.35 mentions two sub-varieties of the naigama (the common') and three sub-varieties of the sabda (the verbal). But generally all Digambara texts talk about seven standpoints, which are enumerated as follows: naigama (the common '), samgraha (the general), vyavahāra (the practical), ṛjusutra (the 'straight-thread'), the sabda (the verbal), samabhiruḍha (the subtle), and evambhuta (the "thushappened").
Vädideva, following Akalanka and others, presents the following scheme of classification:85
Standpoint
Substantial (Being)
(1) The common ('non-distinguished')
"The soul has consciousness."
(2) The general
(3) The practical
"A thing exists" "A thing is either eternal
or non-eternal."
Modificational (Becoming)
(4) The "straight-thread"
"Everything is in flux"
According to another scheme, the first four standpoints (1 through 4) are classified as the standpoint of 'things' while the last three (5 through 7) are classified as the standpoint of 'word' (cf. artha-naya and sabda-naya). It is claimed that the last three standpoints are concerned with only the linguistic uses. They pay attention to the distinction reflected in the grammatical inflections as well as in the specific uses of words. Using modern terminology, one may say that the first four are concerned with ontological distinctions while the last three with semantic distinctions.
(5)
(6)
(7)
The 'verbal' The subtle The "thus-happened"
Kundakunda (as well as others following him) speaks of another scheme of classification of standpoints. This is the dual classification of