Tattvartha Sutra

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

Page 45

TATTVĀRTHA SŪTRA
(b) The Competence of Umāsvāti
Had not the Jaina masters preceding Umāsvāti developed the capacity to write in Sanskrit and had they not already struck the path of writing in that language, could then too Umāsvāti knit out in so lucid a Sanskrit style the sectarian views that had been traditionally elaborated in the technical terminology of Prakrit ?-that certainly is a question; but the history of the entire presently available Jaina literature does on its part declare that the first among the Jaina masters to write in Sanskrit is Umāsvāti himself. The lucid, terse and flawless style of his works stands witness to his mastery over Sanskrit language. The brief collection presented by him in the Tattvārthadhigama-sūtra of the views related to epistemology, ontology, ethics, geography, astronomy etc. that has been developed in the Jaina Āgama testifies to the fact that he belonged to the family of Vācakas (lit. the studious ones) and that the title Vācaka' borne by him was meaningful. The introductory verses of Tattvārtha as also his other verse-compositions indicate that he was an accomplished author of verse as of prose. A minute perusal of his aphorisms along with the bhāsya thereon reveals his close, all-comprehensive study of the Jaina Āgāma as also his close study of the philosophical literature pertaining to the systems like Vaišeșika, Nyāya, Yoga, Buddhist etc. The grammatical aphorisms quoted by him in Tattvārtha bhāsya (1.5; 2.15) testify to his close study of Pāṇini's grammar.
Though in the Svetāmbara sect he is famous as an author of 500 works and though at present certain works are even current as his alleged writing, yet we are not in possession of material that might enable us to say something satisfactory in this connection. Even under such conditions one can definitely say
1. Jāmbūdvīpa Samāsa-prakarana, Pujā-prakarana, Śrāvakaprajñapti, Ksetravicāra, Praśamarati. Siddhasena in his Vrtti (p. 78, line 2) refers to his work named Sauca-prakarana which is however not available at present.