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Tattvartha Sutra
21
vidential manner. The Saint was moved by compassion and finished the book.
This Saint was none other than our Umâsvâmi, and the completed book is Tattvartha Sûtra.
The book is an exposition of Seven Principles of Jainism, i.e., the 7 Tattvas.
The opening Sûtra serves the purpose of an Introduction, Justification and Recapitulation of the whole book. It was necessary to indicate the position of the principles (tattva) in the whole range of Jaina knowledge. They are the subject-matter of right belief, and the relation of the two cannot be appreciated fully, unless we consider the position of right belief in the scheme of Jaina philosophy. This position is indicated by the first Sutra. This brings us to the justification also. The first purpose of everything living is happiness. Happiness to be worth anything must be eternal, faultless and independent. Such happiness is identical with the Jaina conception of liberation. Right belief in and right knowledge of the seven principles, along with a life led in the light of the knowledge, and firmly established on the basis of the belief is the sole threefold path of final and everlasting deliverance. Thus the first Sûtra is a justification of the book which deals with these basic principles of belief and action. It is also a recapitulation, because the whole book can easily be seen to be merely an expansion of the various aspects, details and developments of this mighty and all comprehensive Sûtra of Jainism.
The whole book consists of 357 Sûtras, divided into 10 chapters with 33, 53, 39, 42, 42, 27, 27, 39, 26, 47, and 9 Sûtras respectively.
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