Tirthankar Mahavir and His Sarvodaya Tirth

Author(s): Hukamchand Bharilla, K C Lalwani
Publisher: Kundkund Kahan Digambar Jain Trust

Page 110

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TIRTHANKARA MAHAVIRA AND HIS SARVODAYA TIRTHA
in an object which imparts to it its objectivity is anekānta."98
Anekanta is a compound of two words, aneaka (many) and anta (end). Many may be from two to infinity. Anta also means nature or quality. In every object, there are infinite qualities. In this case, it should mean that any object which has an infinite number of qualities is anekanta But where qualities are only two, they should mean nature, signifying the existence of two contradictory forces.
99
The word syat invariably applies to nature, not qualities, and this is universally so Although nature and quality are used as interchangeable terms, there is a very subtle difference between the two Every object is the repository of infinite qualities, but when two contradictory qualities exist simultaniously, such as, permanence and transcience, existence and non-existence, unity and difference, singularity and multiplicity it becomes nature (dharma) as distinct from quality (guna)
Those qualities in an object which do not clash are accepted by all without raising any controversy but the simultaneous existence of contradictory qualities is accepted only by one who IS the follower of syadvāda Any other person will support either one or the other of the two and be partisan. This anekānta emphasizes the simultaneous existence of contradictory qualities
Each object has many such pairs of contradictory qualities. Thus each object is not only a lump of many qualities but also a many pairs of contradictory qualities. In syadvāda, these have been propunded in its own style
Each object has an infinite qualities. But since the capacity of words is limited, they cannot be simultaneously expressed. These infinite qualities has some one which is the main, so that others become secondary and are not expressly stated. Now,
98 syadvado hi samastavastutattvasadhakamekamaskhalitam śāsanamarhatṣarvajnasya sa tu sarvamanekantatmakamityanusasti ....... tatra yadeva tattadevā atat yadevaikam tadevanekam yadeva sattadevāsat yadeva nityam tadevanityamityekavastuvastutvani spa iakaparasparaviruddha saktidvayaprakāśanamanekantah-Samayasara, pp 571-2
99 Jainendra Siddhanta Ko sa, Part 4, p 501