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CHAPTER XXIII
ĀVĀŚYAKA SŪTRA (ĀVASSAYA SŪYA) The Āvassaya (Āvasyaka) Sūya consists of six sections (adhyāyas) corresponding to the six ūvassayas or the six essential daily duties of a Jaina for the purification of one's own self. The six āvassayas are known as sāmaiya or sāmāyika (way to balance of mind), cauvīsatthavu or caturvimsatistava (eulogy or glorification of the 24 Tirthankaras), vandanaya or vamdana (veneration of the teacher), padikkamaņu or pratikrumaņa (confession and expiation), kāussaggu or kāyotsurga (penance through certain postures of the body or asceticism) and paccakkhāņa or pratyākhānu (abstinence from food or avoidance of sensual pleasures). This sūya (sūtra) is the second mülasūtru, which has come down only in conjunction with the nijjutti.1 Haribhadra Sūri wrote a coinmentary on this work. There is also a commentary on it by Jinabhadra.2 Leumann has published the first three suttas in Roman characters with their German translation in Übersicht Uber die Āvasyaka-Literatur. Some hold that Āvassaya is a composition of Srutasthavira. The authorship of this sūtra is either attributed to Indrabhūti or a Srutasthavira. Some are of opinion that it was composed by Indrabhūti on the very day he composed Dādusāngi. It contains many interesting narratives.
As its title implies, the sūtra is very useful from the standpoint of Jain religion. It is counted among the mūlasūtras probably for the reason that it contains the lectures or dissertations on the six essential duties of a pious Jaina (mülaguņā). The definition of the five kinds of knowledge is just incidental to its main themes. The first of them is called sāmāyikam which is derived from sama (samabhāva) meaning balance or from samyaktva meaning rightness of direction. The sāmāyika carries with it the conception of dvāra or door, mode, method, means, or way. It is regarded as a means of gaining knowledge, faith and right conduct, all comprehended by the term sama. A sama or a man having the balance of mind is one who, being free from passion and hatred, looks upon all beings like himself and the term
1 Śri Āvasyaku Sūtra, part I, with Niryukti by Bhadravāhu Svanin, Bombay, 1928, Agamodaya Samiti.
? Bühler, Leben des Hemachandra, pp. 74ff.
