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Jaina Theory of Multiple Facets of Reality and Truth
is derived from, yet such interpretation is often found in popular
and informative books about Jainism. (iii) Syādvāda is established as a knowledge or its expression based
on words of reliable person (āpta-vacana) or śruta (=āgama) which constitutes a part of indirect knowledge (paroksa-jñāna), and as such is always accompanied by verbal expression. Thus it represents, so to speak, a sort of verbal reflection of the Jaina doctrine of non-absolutism (anekānta-vāda). It is almost certain that such placement of syādvāda in the Jaina logic begins with Siddhasena Divākara and its systematization reaches to a hight
of perfection by Vadideva Sūri. (iv) Syādvāda is understood to be identical with pramāņa (right
knowledge) as contrasted with naya (right partial view) and duraya (wrong partial view), as with the case of Vitarāgastuti of Hemacandra Sūri, and sometimes it is considered, in the widest
sense, as identical with the Jaina philosophy itself. Out of these alternative views of syādvāda, that which is dealt with in this article refers to the third one. Due to the nature of subject matter in question, the exposition should be chiefly based on the Vadideva's works, but the greater part of his autocommentary on the related aphorisms is extinct, and hence the lost portions (IV, $11-47) have been traditionally substituted by their equivalents of the subcommentary Ratnākarāvatārikā, which are again, luckily enough, quoted almost ad verbatim in Syādvādamañjar 823-25, to have been further quoted or utilised in Saptabhangītarangini and Nyāyakhandakhădya.
Such being the case, Syādvādamañjarī is now taken up as chief source material for the present purpose, because it not only covers almost all important topics dealt with in Ratnākarāvatārikā but offers other connected problems of profound importance. Thus this article consists of interpretations of important segments Syādvādamañjari $23-25, in order of Mallişeņa's descriptions, by supplementing them with Vādideva's and Vimaladāsa's interpretations, sources of which are mentioned in the parentheses at the end of paragraphs. However, from fear of prolixity in enumerating each and every source, only rough correspondence of it to its quotation is mentioned; and moreover
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