Tattvartha sutra

Author(s): Umaswati, Umaswami, D S Baya
Publisher: Agam Ahimsa Samta Evam Prakrit Samsthan

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TATTVĀRTHASŪTRA
INTRODUCTION
T he study of any religious philosophy can never commence 1 without knowing about the fundamental foundation-stones
on which its magnificent edifice stands. When we talk about Jainism, we talk about its fundamentals to start with. Before Umāsvāti these fundamentals were scattered amongst twelve primary canons, an equal number of secondary ones and a number of tertiary and subsequent canonical works that came about over time. It was an arduous task for any student of Jainism to find them from a maze of scriptures. Only the very studious ones could succeed in their endeavour. Umāsvāti must have felt this and he, surely, was imbued with a missionary spirit and the intellectual equipment to undertake the task of compiling a work of monumental magnitude and import to facilitate the study of this most essential part. What materialized from his pen and genius is this work of utmost gravity and importance - 'Tattvārthadhigama Sūtrāņi or A Collection Of Aphorisms For The Comprehension Of Fundamental Verities'.
Tattvārtha Sūtra -
Tattvārtha Sūtra is a treatise on the study of the fundamental verities as enunciated in the Jaina branch of Indian religious philosophical study. For obtaining a detailed external as well as internal introduction of this treatise, we have to consider the following four issues based on its text -- 1. Motivational literature, 2. The objective behind its creation, 3. Its style and 4. Its