Study of Tattvarthasutra with Bhasya

Author(s): Suzuko Ohira
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

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Sec. 2. SAMBANDHAKARIKA
Samyagdarśana which is the basic condition to be a Jaina is sung at the very outset. The Jaina way of life, the classification of man, and the nature as well as the cause of tirthakara (1-20) are stated in view of moksı, of which underlying tone is the logical assertion of the karma theory of Jainism which distinguishes it from the other religions in its ethical outlook. These topics, some of which are the modifications in the Agama, are in fact too self-evident and too familiar accounts to be commypicated to the Jainas themselves in this place of introduction. What the author seems to be aiming at here is to distinguish the Jaina position of these religious and theological issues from that of the other schools, the conscious attempt of which is persistently maintained throughout the composition of the text and its commentary. The T S. was composed in the darkest age for the Jainas when they were migrating to the other parts of India from Mathurā. The kārikākāra seems to be loudly appealing to the then Jaipa communities for the common objective of transmitting the tradition of Mabāvīra, the motivation of which is likewise reflected in the karikā 28 and prašisti 4-5. The historical circumstances as such perhaps made the author 'more particular about in declaring these Jaina positions at the outset to be demarcated from those of the others. The reference to these topics at the very beginning of an introductory section does not otherwise make much sense.
Prasasti verses 4-5 deliver the purpose of the composition of the work in two ways: 1) For the sake of upholding the teachings of Arhats handed down by the worthy preceptors through generations, and 2) Due to compassion for the beings upon having observed the world afflicted with pains and snagged by the thoughts of wrong Āgamas. The second message seems, rather than to be a stereotyped expression, to convey the then historical circumstances of the religious struggles in the Gupla age when the new religions such as Vaišnavism and saivism came into power in the florescence of the Hindu revival movement, which finally drove the Jainas away from Mathurā. The first message is obviously announced to the then Jaina communities, a similar aspiration of which is sung in the s.kārikā 28, 'tasmāt-tat-prāmānyāt samāsato vyäsatas-ca jina-vacanıml śreya iti nirvicāram grāhyam dhāryam ca vācyam ca'. Being the artbat-pravacana-sangraha, the T.S. is no other than the jina-vacana itself. In another word, the T.S. was composed for the sake of facilitating the transmission of the legacy of the Jaina canon, the fact of which bas passed the test of time. At any rate, we can point out in the s.kärikā and prašisti a coherent spirit for the ultimate aim in composing the work.
Thus all these kārikās which are inessential or do not have much relevancy to the io formation of the work itself become meaningful and comprehensible in the historical context wherein the author was placed. It means that it would have been very difficult for a later interpolator if at all there were any to compose these portions unless he shared the same historical background. Pujyapāla dropped fron the Sarvārthasiddhi all these
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