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Jaina Theory of Multiple Facets of Reality and Truth
the latter, nor the latter with the former (na kho te sandhiyati purimena vā pacchimam pacchimena vă purimam)26. Here attention is drawn to self-contradictions in Saccaka's statements. This might have been an early instance of adducing self-contradiction (svātmavirodha) as an argument against syādvāda. This has been an oft-repeated criticism against syadvāda by opponents of different times. Cittagāhāpati also blames on the Nigantha Nātaputta for his self-contradictory conception.27 But this criticism cannot be held true in the light of Jaina standpoint. The later Pāli literature even refers to the sevenfold predications as found in the Theragăthā (ekangadassi dummedho sattadassi ca pandito, 106).
It may be mentioned here that the Buddha divided the ganthā, the akusala karma, into four, viz. abhijjhā, vyāpāda, silabbataparāmaso and idamsaccābhiniveso. Of these, the last one idamsaccābhiniveso may be compared with dumaya (pseudo-standpoint) conception. It is treated as mithyādrsti which conceives one's own religion as containing complete truth and others' religions are consisted of no truth.28 This thinking leads a person towards the mithyādrsti.
Thus in the light of all these references, we can draw the developmental stages of anekāntavāda as follows:
1. Ekansavāda-Anekāntavāda. 2. Sat-asat-ubhayavāda. 3. Avaktavya. 4. Saptabhangī, and 5. Two-fold naya and seven-fold naya.
26. Majjhimanikaya, P. 232. 27. Samyuttanikaya, iv. 298-99. 28. Abhidhammatthasangaho, 7.6. cf. "Idameva saccam moghamaññam"ti abhinivisanam
dalhagaho idamsaccabhiniveso. Vibhāvani, p. 166.
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