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Preface
utterly pure and rid of all karmic dirt is the pure-soul (paramātmā). Samādhitantram expounds the method of realizing the pure-soul (paramātmā), the light of supreme knowledge, and infinite bliss. Realization of the pure-soul is contingent upon discriminatory knowledge of the soul and the non-soul, and meditating incessantly on the pure-soul, rejecting everything that is non-soul. Samādhitantram answers the vexed question, 'Who am I?' in forceful and outrightly logical manner, in plain words. No one, the ascetic or the householder, can afford not to realize the Truth contained in the treatise, comprehend it through and through,
and change his conduct accordingly. Istopadeśa - a concise work of 51 didactic verses leading the
reader from the empirical to the transcendental, from the mundane to the sublime, through an experiential process of self-realization, rather than through a metaphysical study of the soul-nature. Iştopadeśa unambiguously establishes the glory of the Self. It is an essential reading for the ascetic. The householder too who ventures to study it stands to benefit much as the work establishes the futility of worldly objects and pursuits, and strengthens right faith, the basis for all that
is good and virtuous. Dasabhakti - a collection of the adoration of the essentials that help the soul in acquiring merit. The essentials include the Supreme Beings, the Scripture, the Perfect Conduct, and the sacred places like the Nandīśvara Dvīpa.
Some other works, including śāntyaştaka (hymn in praise of Lord śāntinātha), Sārasamgraha, Cikitsāśāstra and Jainābhişeka, are also believed to have been authored by Acārya Pūjyapāda.
Lucid style, precise expression and masterly exposition of the subject accord all his compositions highly revered place in Jaina literature. What Ācārya Pūjyapāda has expounded is the word of the Omniscient Lord; his compositions are the never-setting sun that will
(XXXIII)
