Studies in Jainism

Author(s): M P Marathe, Meena A Kelkar, P P Gokhle
Publisher: Indian Philosophical Quarterly Publication Puna

Page 98

SOME AMPHIBIOUS EXPRESSIONS IN UMĀSVĀTI
M. P. Marathe
Umāsvāti's Tattvārthadhigamasutra (TAS) is devoted to the statement and elaboration of the threefold Mok samārga. He himself wrote a commentray on it for the purposes of explanation and clarification. But in both these works Umāsväti seems to have used certain expressions amphibiously and equivocally. In some places he has attempted to explain the significance of one expression by another expression. This seems to give the impression that he reckons these expressions as synonymous. In some other places he appears to have used certain expressions interchangeably. These instances tend to generate certain ambiguities and confusions. It is the object of this paper to focus on some of them and point out that, neither in the TAS nor in the commentary, Umāsvāti has made any attempt to avert then. It will also be pointed out that he does not clearly demarcate the boundaries of the significances of those expressions. The cxpressions in question are : Artha, Tattva, Padārtha, Dravya and Sat. Of these, the discussion of the first three expressions seems to give rise to one set of amphibious expressions, while that of the last two to another. After dealing with them, we shall hint at one methodologically weak point in Presented in the "Colloquium on Jaina Philosophy, Logic, Literature and Culture." (Poona University, 1977). Published in 3978279 87115 1 (Bombay, Udaipur, 1979).