Tattvartha Sutra

Author(s): Umaswati, Umaswami, Manu Doshi
Publisher: Shrutratnakar Ahmedabad

Page 16

TATTVÄRTHA SUTRA
discuss every sutra of Tattvärtha at length so as to bring out all its implications. If one goes through that, he would not miss anything pertaining to Jainism.
Being acceptable to all Jain sects, Tattvärtha Sutra finds a place on academic curricula. Hardly any other Jain scripture finds a place on curriculum for the lay students. Aside from the overall popularity, its place in academic curricula may be due to its being composed in handy phrases and short sentences, which can be easily understood. This is in contrast to many other scriptures, which are composed in intricate verses or long-drawn prose. Moreover, it is a short composition containing 344 (357 as per Digambar version) sutras equivalent to less than 200 verses, which can be covered within 20 pages. It is therefore possible to memorize the entire text and many people do commit it to memory.
One more factor in its favor is that while most Jain scriptures are in Ardhamägadhi language, Tattvärtha Sutra is written in Sanskrit. Since quite a few Indian languages have been derived from Sanskrit, they contain many Sanskrit words. The people speaking those languages are more or less familiar with Sanskrit terms. As such, it is easier for them to comprehend the Sanskrit texts rather than the Prakrit ones.
The author's title of being a Vächak is considered by Shwetambars as indicative of being a Poorvavid, meaning that he knew all the original scriptures. In Digambar tradition he is known as Shrutkevalideshiya, which means that he knew as much as Shrutkevalis, who were the masters of the entire canonical literature. Both these epithets are appropriate in his