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with true desire for knowledge, and hence they do not hesitate in accepting the Dikṣā ultimately when all their doubts are dispelled; while Nihnavas deliberately try to hide the truth in order to refute the theory of the Tirthankara, as they want to establish their own theory amongst the monks and create disruption in the Gaccha.
Faith in Agamas is the guiding spirit of Gaṇadharas, while scepticism is the main characteristic of Nihnavas. In G. V., the debators are non-Jaina persons who are initiated into Jainism at the end, while in N. V. the debators are not only Jainas but the learned Jaina monks themselves who abandon the Jaina church and try to establish their own School. Logic, pure and simple, brings the debators to the right path in G. V., while physical punishment brings the debators to the right path in many cases in N. V.
In G. V., the discussions are held on a very high level as they treat philosophical subjects from beginning to end; while in N. V., the discussions sometimes fall to the level of mere logical tricks employed for refuting a small argument related to a certain statement of agama. Gaṇadharas never went against the Jaina canon; on the contrary they sponsored the movement of establishing its influence over the masses by dedacting the principles of preachings of Śramaņa Bhagavan Mahavira into books. It was not so with Nihnavas. Since they were prominent monks holding strong influence over the public, the Nihnavas actually propagated their wrongly-based theories amongst the dull-witted monks and defiled certain portions of the Giaccha by dragging some of its members on their sides. Rohagupta and Śivabhati are the glaring instances of this type. In short, the tendency of being at perfect agreement with the preachings of Śramana Bhagavan Mahāvira signifies the character of Ganadharas; while that of being at disagreement with the same, either in part or in toto, reflects the character of Nihnavas.
Utility of Nihnavavāda—
It will appear from the points of contrast stated above that
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