Gandharavada

Author(s): Esther A Solomon
Publisher: Gujarat Vidyasabha

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easily accessible exposition of the Avaśyaka-Niryukti on which he was writing his Bhāşya (commentary). Another achievement : of his is that after the composition of this voluminous Bhāșya, the terminology of the Jaina system of thought assumed 'a stable form and became current as such. It must also be noted that in all respects Jinabhadra has made efforts to renistate the original Agamic position, though true to the Jaina anekāntavāda he keeps an open mind and is always prepared to accomodate the other view. We may take but one example. According to the original Jaina position, knowledge is the very essence of the soul, for only that knowledge which the soul has directly without the help of any external instrument is pratyakşa (direct), the rest is paroksa (indirect). Thus mati (sensuous) and śruta ( scriptural) knowledge were put under pa:o'ışa (indirect cognition) and the other three, a vadhi (visual intuition), manaḥ-paryāya (intuition of mental modes) and kevala (perfect knowledge) were classified under pratyakşa (direct or immediate knowledge).* But in order to b.ing their theory of knowledge in line with the theories of other systems of thought, the later Jaina thinkers regarded the knowledge produced by the senseorgans as prakyakşı. S Jinabhadra, a great upholder of the original position, designates the knowledge produced by the sense-organs and the mind as samysavahāra-pratyakşa (empirically direct and immediate knowledge ) Imdiyamıņo-bhavam jam tam samyavahara-paccakkham-Višeşá vyaśyaka Bh. 95).
A glance at the text of the Višeşà vaśyaka - bhāşya shows us that Jinabhadra has treated a number of topics and given them such a satisfactory and critical treatment that the relevant portions can very well serve the purpose of independent treatises.
But what is still more striking is that while the ratiocination and dialectical discussions of Buddhist logicians and philosophers pressed as it were the button and spread a flood of light in the form of precise philosophical thought illuminating a number of topics and problems lying in a latent * See Sthānānga sū. II 1.71; Tattvārtha sū, 1-9-12. § Anuyogadvara, pp. 194-5; Nandi sū, 4.