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THE ORIENT
or anekantavada and sydavada. Although the ideas of syadgvada is pre-Mahavira, and its origin can be traced to what the Buddhist call eel-Wriggle-ism (amara-vikkhepa-vada), it came to assume greater prominence and consistency with Mahavira and his followers. So much so that it appears, now, to be the original contribution of Jainism. The doctrines of anekantavada and syadavada lay the foundation of the Jaina theory of reality. They support Jaina pluralism, the view that the reality is manifold. The Jainas hold that things appear differently when viewed from different standpoints (naya). Hence they (things) do not have any one (ekanta) fixed nature; they are manifold (anekanta). S. N. Dasgupta sums up nayavada as: "The Jains regarded all things are anekanta (na-ekanta) or in other words they held that nothing could be affirmed absolutely, as all affirmations were true only under certain condition". A thing may have as many affirmations as there are standpoints from which these affirmations are made. In order to elaborate this point, the Jainas are found of quoting the anecdote of several blind persons who gave their different descriptions of an elephant whom they tried to perceive by touching. One who touched the legs of the elephant thought him to be like a pillar. One who caught his ear thought elephant to be like winniwing fan, etc. Now all these descriptions of the elephant, the Jaina would contend, are right from different angles; and yet no one description gives the complete truth.
Nayavada
Although there can be infinite numbers of standpoints from which a thing can be viewed, the Jainas summarise these standpoints into seven. These are: (1) Naigama Naya: Universalparticular or telelogical standpoint. Universal and particular go together. Or, an object can be looked at from the standpoint of its end. (2) Samgraha Naya: The class point of view. This concerns with the class characteristics. (3) Vyavahara Naya: The standpoint of the particulars. The opposite of the Second. (4) Rijusutra Naya: The standpoint of momentariness. It takes into account the state of a thing at a particular moment of time. (5) Sabda Naya: The standpoint of synonyms. It means each name has its own meaning and significance even though it may refer to one and the same thing. (6) Samabhirudha Naya: The etymological standpoint. It is an application of the Sabda naya. (7) Evambhuta Naya: The 'such-like' standpoints. It elaborates the applications of the sixth.
Each one of these nayas have several sub-divisions augmenting, thus, the number of standpoints. The Jainas regard the correct way of looking at Reality is to look at it from these
32. History of Indian Philosophy, Vol. I, p. 175.
