Tattvartha sutra

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

Page 44

INTRODUCTION : XLIII
b.
the existing commentaries on this monumental work. Upadhyāya Śrī Ātmārāmjī Maharja (later Acārya) has compiled a valuable reference-book which links the aphorisms of the Tattvārtha Sūtra with the āgamic texts similar in textual form or meaning. This work is the first of its kind and provides an insight into the fundamentals of Jainism from a comprehensive standpoint. Its value also lies in the fact that it takes the TS text accepted by the Digambara tradition and then reconciles each aphorism with the texts of the canonical literature of the Śvetāmbara tradition, thus proving that there is no difference what-so-ever in the basic tenets of Jainism notwithstanding the apparent lack of accord in these two traditions, Upadhyāya Śrī Kewalmunijī has, in his commentary on the Tattvārtha Sūtra, combined the genii of the earlier two scholars and written a very comprehensive commentary in Hindi as well as given copious āgamic references pertaining to each aphorism. Though the style of presentation is lucid and easily understandable by the laymen, it provides enough material for satisfying the thirst for knowledge of the more serious and scholarly students of Jaina thought. Two comprehensive appendices, including the one containing a glossary of Jaina terms, increases the utility of the work manyfold and makes it useful even for the uninitiated. Pt. Sukhalal Sanghavi has written a detailed commentary on the Tattvārtha Sūtra following its original
C.
d.