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Jinamañjari, Volume 19, No. 1, April 1999
Mathematical Philosophy In Jaina Thought
Dr. L.C. Jain, Jabalpur, India Dr. Padmavatamma, University of Mysore, India
"he words or the languages, as they are written or spoken, do not seem to play any role in my mechanism of thought. The psychical entities which seem to serve as elements in thought are certain signs and more or less clear images which can be voluntarily reproduced and combined."
- Albert Einstein, Ideas and Opinions, Calcutta, 1979.
The words, "Mathematical Philosophy," seem to have originated with Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970), author of the Principia Mathematica. It was co-authored with Alfred Whitehead. Russell, who. created "Russell paradox" in relation to the fringes of the set theory of the infinities as propounded by Georg Cantor (1845 -1918). According to Cantor, the early Greek geometers passing from the empirical rules of Egyptian land-surveying to the general propositions by which those rules were found to be justifiable, became engaged in -- especially after dealing with Euclid's axioms and postulates -- a new type of existential thought, mathematical philosophy.
More recently it has been observed that the early Jaina School of Mathematics was also engaged in a similar pursuit as is demonstrated in the mathematical philosophy of Karma theory with its mathematical discourse of symbolism contained in the Purva (ca. 2nd-5th century C.E.) texts that were in the hands of the Digambaras.
Pandita Todaramalla of Jaipur (c. 1721-61) was the last worker in this particular field. Due to his great accomplishment, we now have a guide to the non-universal mathematics of Jaina Karma theory contained in such works like the Dhavalas of Virasenacarya (begun in the year 792 and completed on the 8th of October 816 C.E), the Gommatasara, the Trilokasara of Nemicandra Siddhantacakravarti (ca. 955-985 C.E.), the Tilyapannatti, and works credited to Madhavacandra Traividya (c.12th century) and Kesava Varni (c. 13th century). The mathematical philosophy of Karma theory with its mathematical discourse of symbolism was extensively researched -- Project of Labdhisara at the Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi, 1984 through 1987.
It was already felt by Boole, Frege and Russell that deeper realms of philosophy could be approached only through words or symbols which could express the propositions between the truth and
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