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THE WORLD OF JAINISM
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9.
This cannot be for the arhats go to certain houses unexpectedly, so it could not be said that the cooking was undertaken for them (asankapratisedha). Non-injury is therefore the greatest virtue. 25
10.
Sruta-Jnana or Authority
Sruta (lit. heard) or authority is another source of knowledge. Earlier, Sruta-jnana was confined to that type of knowledge which was received through the sense of hearing as the word Sruta itself means that which is heard. But later on, it was extended to cover knowledge acquired by other senses also. Since earlier only the knowledge contained in the scriptures was communicated through words, and was heard and memorised by the people, Sruta-jnang came to be identified with the knowledge of the scriptures. And since the knowledge of the scriptures was supposed to be contributed by persons of superior wisdom, sruta-jnana came to be regarded as superior to mati-jnana. Further, sensuous knowledge or mati-jnana was considered by the Jainas as limited to the objects of the present only, whereas sruta-jnana was thought to be concerned with the past, present and the future. Thus Jainism held sruta-inana to be superior to sensuous knowledge or mati-jnana.
However, Jainism regards sruta-jnana to be preceded by mati-jnana. Tattvartha sutra (I, 20) and other texts are one in this regard. The reason seems to be that the Jainas thought that knowledge has to be first perceived before it is transmitted to others. It was argued that the relation between myatri and sutra is one of the mutual concomitance. It is because of the mutual interdependence of these two processes, some thinkers considered them to be one, and regarded sruta nothing but mati.
Sruta-inana is classified in various ways. It is not possible to enumerate all these here. It is, however, necessary to consider some classifications here. Umasvati classified sruta into two categories: (1) anga-pravista, contained in the 12 Angas, and (2) anga-vahya, contained in other than the angas. Again, it is divided into two: aksanat maka, verbal or lettered and anaksaratmaka, non-verbal or letterless. Verbal knowledge is derived from words which are composed of letters (aksara) spoken or written. Seeing or hearing of the words is matijnana, but understanding their connotation is sruta-jnana. Again, aksara-sruta is analysed into three sub-classes, shape of the letter (saminaksara), sound of the letter (vyanjanaksara), and the connotation (sruta-jnana). Kunda Kundacarya in his Pancastikaya, Samayasara (43) divides sruta into four classes,
25. Cited by Dasgupta S. N., History of Indian Philosophy, I, p. 186,
from Bhadrabahu's Dasavaikalika-nirukti, 50.
