Facets of Jain Philosophy Religion and Culture

Author(s): Shreechand Rampuriya, Ashwini Kumar, T M Dak, Anil Dutt Mishra
Publisher: Jain Vishva Bharati

Page 124

Anekāntavāda, Nayavāda and Syādvāda 107
The purport of the entire argument is that the distinction between 'conceptual' and 'verbal' is a relative one, and therefore that when it is associated with the two methods under consideration, it should be done subject to the consideration outlined in course of argument.
The logical justification for the formulation of these two methods of nayavāda and syādvāda consists in the fact that the immense complexity of the relativistic universe is too baffling for the human mind, with its limited range of preceptual and other capacities, to penetrate at once, into its full secrets. In the process of grasping the bewildering universe analysis, or nayavāda, naturally precedes synthesis, or syādvāda, and the two methods together offer an articulated knowledge of the universe. After this comparative estimate of the two methods we may now proceed to consider them in their natural order. The Definition of Nayavāda A naya is defined as a particular opinion or (abhipraya or abhimata) or a viewpoint (apeksā)--a viewpoint which does not rule out other different viewpoints and is, thereby, expressive of a partial truth (vastvamśagrāhi) about an object (vastu)-as entertained by a knowing agent (jñātr).67 A naya is a particular viewpoint about an object or an event, there being many other viewpoints which do not enter into, or interfere with the particular viewpoint under discussion. Although the other viewpoints do not enter into the perspectives of the particular
66. This is the general definition (sämānya laksana) of a naya. The specific feature
(visesa laksana) of each particular naya will be noticed later on. 67. To express the nature of a naya, in the words of Prabhāchandra : anirakrtapr
atipakso vastvamsagrāhi nayah/PKM, p.676. There are numerous variant forms of the definition of a naya. But they all express substantially, but oftén more elaborately, the whole, or a part, of the connotation so briefly indicated by Prabhachandra's defintion. See, for instance, NKC, Vol. II, p. 606 f., f.n. 1, in which the editor has enumerated about as many as thirty such variant forms. In AGAM, pp. 142-3 (tippanāni)] under 'naya' the same editor has made a few editions to the forms. The following, not necessary found in the above-mentioned two-places, may, however, be cited here :
arthasyānekarūpasya dhik pramānam tadańsudhih/ nayo dharmantarāpekşi dumayas tanniräkrtih/
ASA on AMS, 1.47. pramānaparicchinnasya anantadharmātmakasya vastunā ekadesa-grāhinah taditarāṁsapratiksepino adhyavasāyavid esa nayah/. JTBY, P. 21 (CF. PNTA, VII. 1, and SRK thereon, in SRK, p. 1044), nayantiti nayah.anekadharmātmakam vastu ekadharmena nityarnevedam anityameveti vā nirūpayanti/ See NKC, Vol. II, p.
606 f., f.n. 1. 68. Cf. audāsinyaparāyanās tadapare cāmse bhaveyur nayah/ABHI, p. 1853.