Schools and Sects in Jaina Literature

Author(s): Amulyachandra Sen
Publisher: Vishwa Bharati Calcutta

Page 42

SCHOOLS AND SECTS IN JAINA LITERATURE
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existence of the soul can be established. The same argument is applied in denying the existence of the soul through iśvara, ātman, niyati and svabhāva as in regard to kāla. Yadycchā means obtainment of results without any determining cause. The Yadrcchāvādins see no uniformity of causal relation in the world. śāluka 'the root of a particular kind of water-lily' comes of a śāluka as well as of cowdung ; fire comes of fire as well as of arani 'a piece of wood' ; smoke comes of smoke as well as of a combination of fire and fuel ; kandali 'a particular kind of plant with white flowers appearing very plentifully in the rainy season' comes of kanda ‘bulbous root' as well as of seeds; the Vața tree comes of seeds as well as of a section of a branch, and wheat comes of wheat-seeds as well as of bamboo-seeds. So there is plurality and not uniformity in causal relations and everything comes into existence accidentally (yadịcchātaḥ) as in a freak. Gunaratna quotes the following as illustrating the views of Akriyāvādins :
atarkitopasthitameva sarvam citram janānām sukhaduḥkhajātam 1 käkasya tālena yathābhighāto
na buddhipurvo 'sti vịthābhimānaḥ 11 All this has come into existence by accident--the various joys and sorrows of men ; all this is like the striking a crow by a palm-fruit, which is not preceded by design. It is useless to think (that the origination of things is preceded by design).
Thus under nästi jīvaḥ "svataḥ" we have obtained six schools and under nästi jīvaḥ "parataḥ" we shall have a set of another six schools. Therefore there are obtained twelve schools under the first of seven "principles and by extending the same classification to each of the other six "principles" we have altogether seven times twelve or eighty-four schools comprised in Akriyāvāda.
Another classification of Akriyāvādins divides them into eight classes105, viz.
Ekavādins who believe in one supreme soul as the first cause.
Anekavādins who believe in one supreme principle manifesting itself in several principles.
Mitavādins who gave a fixed size to the soul, Nirmitavādins who regard the universe as created by God.
103 Sth. S. 8.3.607.