Jainism from the View Point of Vedantic Acaryas

Author(s): Yajneshwar S Shastri
Publisher: B J Institute

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Jainism from the view point of Vedāntic Acāryas
very familiar with the meaning of the word 'Syāť taken by the Jainas in the sense of 'in certain respect or in certain point of view. There was no much literature in defence of Syādvāda prior to Śarkara. Whatever literature developed in defence of Syādväda, is, post-Sankara development.
Śankara, while criticising Syādvāda, states that, this reasoning of application of sevenfold judgement to everything is faulty and unjustifiable. Sanksara, like Buddhists logicians, bitterly criticises this view by stating that contradictory attributes, like existence and nonexistence, unity and plurality, eternality and momentariness, cannot belong to the same thing, just as light and darkness cannot remain at the same place, or just as the same thing cannot be hot and cold at the same time. (Franqu14 : çfa i gra: | Bohf 1991 i afe एकस्मिन् धर्मिणि युगपत् सदसत्त्वादिविरुद्धधर्मसमावेशः संभवति, शीतोष्णवत्। B.S.B., II.II.33). This view about things cannot be accepted as it is absord to think of the same thing of endowed with these contradictory attributes of reality, unreality etc.
Śankara levels another charge against Syādvāda by saying that no theory can be sustained by mere probability. If everything is probable, then Syādvāda, by its own assertion, becomes only probable. If all truth is partial, then Syādvāda itself is only partially true and, therefore, partially false.
The seven categories (Soul, non-soul etc.) are definitely ascertained and said that they are seven in
they are seen in