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Tattvārthasūtra
“Tattvārthasūtra' is the major Scripture that deals with the Jaina Doctrine. It expounds in form of aphorisms - sūtra – the nature of the reality, as well as the conduct that leads one to the blissful stage of liberation. Although, Prākrit was the preferred language at that time, ‘Tattvārthasūtra' has been composed in Sanskrit, probably due to the onset of Sanskrit as the language for literary works. 'Tattvārthasūtra is the first major work, dealing with the Jaina philosophy, in Sanskrit.
Brief and to-the-point, 'Tattvārthasūtra' delineates beautifully the essentials of all objects-of-knowledge (ñeya). All sects of Jainas have adopted it as their main Scripture. It enjoys tremendous popularity among the philosophical as well as the spiritual seekers, worldwide. It occupies among the Jainas the same place-of-pride as 'The Bhagavad-gītā' among the Hindus, "The Bible' among the Christians, and 'The Qurān' among the Muslims. Many Jaina devotees read it everyday, particularly so during the fasting days, i.e., the eighth and the fourteenth day of the lunar fortnight. During the ten-day festival of dasalaksana', discourses - one chapter each day – on 'Tattvārthasūtra'are arranged in Jaina temples and devotees listen to these with great veneration. Now since the masterpiece “Tattvārthasūtra' has been composed by Acārya Gțddhpiccha (Acārya Umāsvāmī) in form of aphorisms - sūtra – only the men of extraordinary brilliance and accomplishment are able to interpret and understand the full import of each sūtra. Most tenets expounded in the treatise are beyond comprehension of the men of ordinary wisdom, accustomed to seeing and believing objects with form, through worldly means that rely primarily on sensory inputs. Objects-of-knoweldge that are subtle (like drayakarma), distant in space (like Mount Meru) and distant in time (like past and future births), which are beyond direct perception of the mundane souls, are discussed extensively in ‘Tattvārthasūtra'.
For the benefit of future ascetics and laymen, some later learned and advanced preceptors, therefore, took upon themselves the task of elaborating, with precision, the meaning of each sūtra that comprises 'Tattvārthasūtra':
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