Book Title: Studies in Jainism
Author(s): M P Marathe, Meena A Kelkar, P P Gokhle
Publisher: Indian Philosophical Quarterly Publication Puna

Previous | Next

Page 160
________________ AN ANALYSIS OF "SYĀT' IN SYĀDVĀDA 145 There is, however, another, although equally important, sense of the word syāt in terms of which the expression syat, turns out to be indicative potential third person singular of the root' as '8. But it is not merely the grammatical consideration that brings this sense to the foreground. Equally important is the philosophical and modal consideration. In such consideration of the significance of the term 'syāt' the expression brings out symptomatically (pratirūpakah) such nature of a thing that it is a collection or conjunction (nipā tah) of dharmas potentially it is beset with. If both these interpretations of the expression "syat' are brought to bear upon each other then two important consequences seem to follow, the fuller implications of which will become clear as we proceed, and they are : (a) Syädvāda is the explanatory foundation of anekāntavāda, the explanatory frame in terms of which anekāntavāda, the doctrine according to which a thing can take many dharmas without contradiction,10 becomes significant and meaningful; and (b) Syādvāda is connected with potentiality, capacity or dispositions of a thing which actualize. Such actualized dispositions are given either right which the emergence of a thing (sahabliavidharmas), in which case they are called gunas or as those which happen to be actualized collectively or sequentially (kramabhāvi) in course of time. In the latter case they are called Paryā yas. Both these considerations have important consequences in the entire frame of the Jaina philosophical explanation, but more of it later. III In order to be able to determine as unambiguously as possible, the kind/s of possibillity/possibilities that is/are involved in the consideration of Syādvāda we shall have to prepare a detailed preparatory background. As a step in this direction let us understand three important expressions, viz. dharma, guma, and parya ya. For, it is in the light of these terms that we shall be in a position to understand the nature of dravya, in the light of which, consequently, we shall be in a position to understand the fuller implications both of Syādvāda and of syāt. Dharma perhaps means any potential feature of a thing. We need to assume that a totality of dharmas as dis positions is given. This has an imporJ-10

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284