Tattvartha Sutram

Author(s): J L Jaini
Publisher: Champat Rai Jain

Page 10

He at once concluded that this must be the Saint. He fell at the feet of the Saint and made a most humble and heart-felt entreaty that the work was beyond his poor layman's wits and that the saint should oblige him and the world by completing the book, the first aphorism of which had been corrected by the Saint in such a providential manner. The Saint was moved by compassion and finished the book,
This Saint was none other than our Umasvami, and the completed book is Tatvartha Sutra,
The book is an exposition of the 7 Principles of Jainism, 1, e., the 7 Tatvas.
The opening Sutra serves the purpose of an Introduction, Justification and Recapitulation of the whole book. It was necessary to indicate the position of the Principles (Tatva, in the whole range of Jain Knowledge. They are the subject-matter of right belief, and the relation of the two can not be appreciated fully, unless we consider the position of right belief in the scheme of Jain philosophy. This position is indicated by the first Sutra. This brings us to the Jnstification also. The first purpose of everything Living is Happiness to be worth anything must be eternal, faultless and independent. Such happiness is identical with the Jaina conception of Liberation. Right belief in and right knowledge of the 7 Principles, along with a life led in the light of the knowledge, and firmly established on the basis of the belief is the sole threefold path of final and everlasting deliverance. Thus the first Sutra is a justification of the book which deals with these basic principles of belief and action. It is also a Recapitulation, because the whole book can easily be seen to be merely an expansion of the various aspects, details and developments of this mighty and all comprehensive Sutra of Jainism.
The ground-plan of the book itself admits of analysis as follows:
The whole book consists of 357 Sutras, divided into 10 chapters with 33, 53, 39, 42, 42, 27, 39, 26, 47, and 9 Sutras respectively,