Tattvartha Sutra

Author(s): Sukhlal Sanghavi, K K Dixit
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 11

10
(1) jīva
(3) punya
(5) āsrava
(7) vedana
(9) kriyā
(11) bandha
All these concepts except kriya and adhikarana also occur in those two earlier lengthy catalogues found in Sūtrakṛtānga and Aupapātika (the former in fact having akriya instead of adhikarana); moreover, the concept vedana occurring in the Sūtrakṛtānga catalogue of 12 concepts is missing in the subsequent texts which in fact contain only 11 conceps.* All this apparently jumbled information is relevant for a historical evaluation of the doctrine of nine tattvas (=fundamental verities) inasmuch as this doctrine could not have been current at the time when the text-passages in question were written. For according to this doctrine the entire body of Jaina theoretical positions stands covered by the nine fundamental concepts jiva, ajīva, punya, pāpa, asrava, samvara, nirjara, bandha, mokṣa, concepts which are invariably present in these passages without attracting any special notice. Certainly, the context of these passages makes it clear that if the doctrine of nine tattvas was current at the time when they were written they would have mentioned not these and those concepts they do but just the nine concepts brought to special notice by this doctrine. As for this doctrine itself, it was formulated with a view to satisfying a strongly felt theoretical urge, for now was not the question cataloguing as many of characteristic Jaina concepts as possible but of cataloguing just those concepts which would cover the entire body of Jaina theoretical positions without being redundant. And hence it was that that catalogue of twelve concepts which was latest to arrive on the scene was subjected to a scrupulous pruning. So far as ontological positions were concerned the two concepts jiva and ajiva obviously took complete care of them, but the remaining ten concepts which had all to do with ethical positions contained redundencies. Here the concept bandha standing for involvement in transmigratory cycle and the
(2) ajiva
(4) pāpa
(6) samvara
(8) nirjarā
(10) adhikarana
(12) mokṣa
* In view of what we are going to say on the subject this omission must have been the result of a careless handling of the text on the part of later copyists.