Jainas in History of Indian Literature

Author(s): Jinvijay
Publisher: ZZZ Unknown

Page 41

361 JÄINÄS IN INDIAN LITERATURA thasāmgraha. The oldest Präkrit lexicon iš the work of a Jaina, viz. the Pāiyalacchi Namamalas of Dhana pāla, composed in 972 A. D. The Pāiyalacchi has been used by Hemacandra in bis Desīnāmamālās to which, as to his other works, he has also written a commentary of his own,
$9) Philosophical works of the Jainas In Philosophy the Jainas have developed an original system, the Syādvāda which takes a distinct position between the Brāhmanic and Buddhist philosophical systems. This has been shown vary clearly by Jacobi in his paper on "the Metaphysics and Ethics of the Jainas", read at the third international Congress for the History by Religions in London 1908 (Transactions, Vol. II. p. 59 ff.) As Prof. Jacobi says, the Jaina Syādvāda or “Doctrine of may be" is the statement of the common sense view, as opposed both to the Vedāntic doctrine that there is only one without a second, and the Buddhist theory of transitoriness. According to Jaina metaphysics "any metaphysical proposition is right from one point of view, and the contrary position is also right from another.” syād asti sarvam, syādnästi sarvam-may be that everything is, may be that everything is not.” As Jaina thinkers always sided with the common-sense views, it is only natural that they were attracted by the systems of Nyāya and Vaise şika. There is even a tradition that the Vaiseșika system was founded by a :1 Edited by Th. Zachariae, Vienna, 1893.
2 Edited by G. Bühler, Gottingen, 1879. 3 Edited by R. 'Pischal, Bombay Sanskrit Sarion, No.
17, 1880.