Jaina Philosophy of Language

Author(s): Sagarmal Jain
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith

Page 54

(28) : Jaina Philosophy of Language
meanings) is attained after destruction-cum-subsidence of verbalknowledge-obscuring- karmas (śruta-jñānāvaraṇa-karma) hence it is subjective (ātmanistha) whereas samjñākṣara (shape and form of the letters of a script) and vyañjanākṣara (letters suggesting certain meanings) are external and objective. The labdhyākṣara is non-acquired in as much as it is capable of understanding the meaning but simultaneously it is dependent on saṁjñākṣara and vyañjanākṣara also and both being acquired are cultivated or learned. Thus labdhyākṣara can be regarded to the some extent as acquired or cultivated also.
Vowel & consonant
Jaina masters have classified letters into vowels and consonants. Jinabhadragani Kṣamāśramaṇa in his Viśeṣāvaśyaka- bhāṣya has defined vowel as that which follows letters28. The commentator regards akṣara as (expressive of knowledge and reality). A vowel because it follows or articulates reality or knowledge is called svara. The commentator further adds that, that which indicates the thing or idea and makes consonants pronounceable is svara. Without the svaras (vowels) consonants remain non-pronounceable. 29
While defining the consonant, the Jaina ācāryas say that as the lamp reveals the pot so also that which expresses the object is consonants.30 As a matter of fact all the objects are expressed or pronounced through vowels, consonants and words made by their different combinations. Thus the fundamental source of all alphabetical languages can be see in vowels and consonants, which construct the language.
Matṛkākṣara (Matrix of the letters)
Whether the Jaina masters have ever thought seriously about the matrix of letters with respect to acoustics and scriptology, it is not known to me. We have mention about matrix of 46 letters only in the Samavāyānga31. However, there also it is not clear as to what exactly is the form of matrix. The commentator Abhayadeva has given the matrix of the following 46 letters, which exclude ṛr Iri and ! (∞)
Vowels
a ā iī uū e ai o au mḥ = 12
Consonants
ka kha ga gha n
ca cha ja jha ñ