Tattvartha sutra

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

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XX: TATTVĀRTHA SUTRA
subject matter. Motivation -
The āgamic and other factors that motivated the author to create this treatise - "Tattvārtha Sūtra - can be divided into the following four parts: - 1. The Canonical Heritage - As the Vedas are considered as authentic in the Vedic philosophy, the "Āgamas'or the canonical texts are considered as principally authentic in the Jaina philosophy. The authenticity of the other works is subject to their adherence to the Āgamic texts. Vācaka Umāsvāti had well inherited this Āgamic heritage from his spiritual masters and, thus had a clear and weHorganized knowledge thereof. 2. Mastery Over Samskrta Language -- Being born a Brahmin and by virtue of his residence and peregrinations in the areas of Kašī, Magadha, Bihāra etc., which were the traditional strong-holds of Samskrta scholars, he had gained a mastery over the Samskrta language that was the main language of the cra and the area. By his facility in this language, besides Prākrta, Vācaka Umāsvāti enriched his fund of knowledge with a detailed study of Vedic as well as Buddhist literature of the time. 3. The Effect Of Other Philosophies - By gaining an insight into the Vedic and Buddhist literature, the author came to know their various subjects and thought processes. He was not only deeply impressed by their contents and forms but was also sufficiently motivated to compile a treatisc, in the Saniskrta language, on the fundamentals of Jaina philosophical thought, in the concise and philosophical Sūtra - Aforistic style hitherto