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42
TATTVĀRTHA SŪTRA
composed relating to various sciences and to the secular pursuits like poetry, drama etc. Are they too to be treated as śruta ?
Answer : Of course, they too are śruta.
Question : But then being of the nature of śruta they too ought to be of use for attaining mokṣa ?
Answer : To be or not to be of use for attaining moksa is not the fixed nature of a systematic treatize, for that depends on the capacity of the connoisseur concerned. If the connoisseur concerned is competent and is desirous of attaining moksa then he can make use of even secular treatizes for attaining mokṣa; on the other hand, if he is not a fit person then he would downgrade himself even with the help of the treatizes that are generally considered spiritual. Nevertheless, the super-ordinary śruta holds a special position on account of its subject-matter as also the competence of its author.
Question : śruta is of the nature of knowledge. Why then is the designation śruta given to the systematic treatizes of the form of language as also to the paper etc. on which they are written down ?
Answer : All that is done figuratively. For as a matter of fact śruta is but of the nature of knowledge. But language is a means of revealing such knowledge and it is also a product of such knowledge; similarly, paper etc. are a means of writing down this language and of retaining it in an organized form. That is why language and the paper etc. are figuratively called śruta. 20.
The Sub-types of Avadhi-jñāna and Those Authorized to Acquire It :
Avadhi-jñāna is of two types. 21.
Of these two, one-viz. bhava-pratyaya or that owing to birth is found among the hellish beings and the heavenly beings. 22.
On the other hand, the other type which owes its origin to a particular cause—that is, the type originating as a result
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