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CHAPTER - IV
DOCTRINE OF TRANSMIGRATION: COROLLARY OF DOCTRINE OF KARMA
IV. (i) Introduction
Rebirth is clearly associated with the doctrine of karma and the two are basal presupposition of Indian thought and also considered to be postulate of Indian philosophy. Rebirth is a corollary of the principle of karma.'
Rebirth and karma are the two most important presuppositions of all schools of Indian philosophy, with the solidarity exception of the system of Cārvāka. India is the birth place of a galaxy of spiritual leaders throughout its history and it is no wonder that her heritage is so rich with speculations about rebirth and karma and the pathways leading to emancipation from them.?
Although nearly every religious or philosophical tradition of India has accepted the idea of karma as valid, a wide divergence exists in the extent to which various schools have developed this idea into a coherent system of doctrine best measured by amount of sacred and scholastic works devoted to it-one tradition, that of the Jains, stands clearly apart from all others."
The doctrine of karma seems to have developed against number of other doctrines, especially doctrine of creation of
'(i) Ācārānga, 1.2.6
(ii) Devendra Muni Shastri, “A Source Book in Jain Philosophy, P-493 "(i) Sanmati-tarka-prakarana of Siddhasena Divākara, 111.53 (ii) Šāstravāratā-samuccaya of Haribhadra, 11, 79-81 (iii) Dr. Nathmal Tatia, “Studies in Jaina Philosophy”, P-220 Dr. Padmanabh S. Jaini, “Collected papers on Jaina Studies”, P-121
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