Book Title: Jainism and Democracy
Author(s): Indra Chandra Shastri
Publisher: I A S S Jain Conference New Delhi

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Page 150
________________ THE GREAT SCRIPTURES OF JAINS 137 the occasion to survey the entire literature. I shall refer to a few works only which bave exercised a great influence on the Jain tradition. 1. Tattvārtha Sūtra comes first in this category. It is held in high esteem by Digambaras as well as Svetāmbaras. The former worship it like the canon. It is an aphorism in ten chapters. The last five chapters of it are devoted to the way of spiritual development. Tattvārtha is commented both by Svetambara as well as Digambara Ācāryas of high reputation. Of course, Digambara commentaries are more scholarly. Pujyapāda, Akalanka and Vidyapanda, the three stalwarts of Jain literature, have written excellent commentaries on it. They are important contributions to philosophy and logic. Among Svetāmbaras a commentary by the author himself and another by Siddha Sena Gasin are more prominent. Thus, the Tattvārtha with its commentaries, serves as independent literature on all aspects of Jain religion and philosophy. 2. Next, we come to the works of Kundakunda, a mystic philosopher. He was a prolific writer particularly on Jain mysticism. Dr. A. N. Upadhye has surveyed his works in his scholarly introduction to Pravacanasāra. Kundakunda's trinity of Samayasāra, Pañcāstikāya-sāra and Pravacanasāra bas exercised great influence on the entire Jain literature. A scholarly edition of Samayasāra by Prof. Chakravarti has appeared from Bharatiya Jñānapitha, Kashi. 3. Next we should specify the literature on the theory of karman which is a speciality of Jainism. It is Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org

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