Jaina Culture

Author(s): Mohanlal Mehta
Publisher: P V Research Institute Varanasi

Page 75

JAINA CULTURE
existence and non-existence are considered simultáneously. When both existence and non-existence are taken into acc. ount at one and the same time, the thing becomes indescribable.
The fifth, sixth and seventh propositions are the combinations of the first and fourth, second and fourth and third and fourth propositions respectively.
Thus, the first proposition of the sevenfold judgment is related to existence, the second to non-existence, the third to both successively and the fourth to both simultaneously. These four propositions are fundamental. The last three are their combinations. The first form is positive, the second one is negative and so on. This is the method of the Jaina dialectic.
Naya :
Syadvada or sakaladeša (complete judgment) describes an object relatively keeping contact with all its characteristics. Nayavāda or dikalādesa (incomplete judgment) takes into account any one of the characteristics of that object and leaves the rest untouched. A particular naga (standpoint) selects a particular characteristic for its purpose, not rejecting the remaining ones but leaving them for other nayas. A judg. ment that accepts only one characteristic and rejects the other ones is fallacious (nayabhāsa). .
Really speaking, there are infinite nayas, inasmuch as an object is possessed of infinite characteristics and one naya knows only one characteristic. Broadly speaking, naya is of two kinds: dealing with generalitý (dradyūstika) and dealing with particularity (pargāzāstika). The former looks at the identity of things, whereas the latter looks at the difference of things. The former is divided into three classes: naigama, sangraha and oyavahāra. The latter is classified into four categories; Tjusūtra, sabda, samabhirudha and cambhuta.. Thus, there are seven broad divisions of naya.