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(22) : Jaina Philosophy of Language (ii) Abhāṣātmaka (non-linguistic)." Word-sounds with letters which are capable of expressing meaning to the listener are necessarily linguistic and classified under akşara-śruta. Besides, akşara-śruta is more comprehensive because it includes the knowledge through the scripts and symbols also. Therefore, akşara-śruta is both visual as well as audible, and both of them are bhāṣātmaka. As far as the word-sounds devoid of vowel and consonants are concerned, that can be anakşara-śruta type or also different from it. If an abhāṣātmakai.e.non-linguistic sound devoid of letters concerning vowel and consonant is able to express the meaning then it is of the form of anakşara-śruta and if not, it cannot be called as śruta. In other words the word-sound devoid of vowel and consonant can be of both the forms-- anakşara-śruta and aśruta (mati-jñāna) also. The whole scriptural knowledge (linguistic knowledge) is necessarily of the nature of mati-jñāna (sense-cognition) also. But it is not necessary that whole sense cognition (mati-jñāna) be of the nature of śruta.
Akşara-śruta (alphabetically originated scriptural knowledge) and anakşara-śruta (non-alphabetically originated scriptural knowledge) both are the forms of language. Spoken or written language with vowels and consonants is surely akşara-śruta but the sound-signals devoid of vowels and consonants and other type of signals, if they are able to express the meaning, come under anakşara-śruta. Modern linguists also have accepted both the forms of language. With a view of comprehensive definition of language, anakşara-śruta is also one of the forms of language. It is also both audible and other than audible. According to Jainas symbolic sounds, symbolic movements, symbolic marks, and also the cognition of their meaning - both are the parts of language known as dravya-śruta and bhāva-śruta. Dravya-śruta is component of thinking while bhāva-śruta is thinking itself. Dravya-śruta is sākṣara when it consists of written or spoken words, and it is anakṣara when it consists of physical gestures. The bhāva-śruta is called sākṣara because it contains word quá concepts, it is also called anaksara because it does not contains word quá external symbols written or spoken. Thus the language or śruta is a wider concept. It may, however, be noted that the Svetāmbara tradition and its masters, Jinabhadragani Kșamāśramana, Haribhadra and Malayagiri do not include non-audible body movements in anaksara-śruta (non-alphabetical language) for śruta, according to them is only that which is audible. The body
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