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Preface
It is mentioned in Jaina inscriptions and literature that Acārya Pūjyapāda had the supernatural power to visit the Videha kṣetra to make obeisance to the Tirthankara Lord Simandharasvāmi. It is believed that on account of his vast scholarship and deep renunciation, his feet were worshipped by the deva and, therefore, the name Pujyapāda (pūjya venerable; pāda = the feet). The sacred water that anointed his feet could transform iron into gold. He used to visit holy places in celestial carriages and during one such occasion he lost his eyesight. He then composed Santyaṣṭaka and regained his sight. But after this incident, he took to samādhi and relinquished his body by courting voluntary, pious and passionless death.
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Acārya Pujyapada composed the following Jaina texts:
Jainendra Vyakarana' - a comprehensive work on Sanskrit grammar, considered to be an essential reading for the student of Jaina literature.
'Sarvarthasiddhi' - an authoritative commentary on
'Tattvarthasūtra' by Acarya Umasvāmī, it is truly a compendium of Jaina epistemology, metaphysics and cosmology.
The title 'Sarvarthasiddhi' implies that going through it one accomplishes all that is desirable; or, it is the means of attaining ineffable bliss appertaining to the liberated souls. There is no exaggeration involved in the above statement as 'Sarvarthasiddhi' is an exposition of the reality - the true nature of substances, soul and non-soul - the knowledge of which equips one to tread the path to liberation, as expounded in 'Tattvärthasūtra'. Those who read, listen to, and assimilate this exposition have in their palms the nectar of eternal bliss; in comparison, the happiness of the king-of-kings (cakravarti) and of the lord of the deva (indra) is insignificant.
The treatise deals with the objects-of-knowledge that constitute the reality. There is beginningless intermingling of the soul (jiva) and the non-soul (ajīva) karmic matter, the two
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