Tattvartha Sutra (also known as
Tattvarth-adhigama-sutra or
Moksh-Shastra) is a Jaina text written by
AcharyaIn Indian religions and society, an acharya is a guide or instructor in religious matters; founder, or leader of a sect; or a title affixed to the names of learned men...
UmaswatiUmaswati is the author of Tattvartha Sutra, the best-known Jaina text. The details of his life are controversial. He is claimed by both the Digambar and Svetambar sects. He is known as Acharya Umaswati, which is a title prefixed to the names of learned men.A mathematician, he is thought to have...
or Umasvami. It was an attempt to bring together the different elements of the Jain Path, epistemological, metaphysical, cosmological, ethical and practical, otherwise unorganized around the scriptures in an unsystematic format. It is the first Jain text in
sutraSūtra , literally means a thread or line that holds things together, and more metaphorically refers to an aphorism , or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual...
(aphoristic) form.
Tattvartha Sutra (also known as
Tattvarth-adhigama-sutra or
Moksh-Shastra) is a Jaina text written by
AcharyaIn Indian religions and society, an acharya is a guide or instructor in religious matters; founder, or leader of a sect; or a title affixed to the names of learned men...
UmaswatiUmaswati is the author of Tattvartha Sutra, the best-known Jaina text. The details of his life are controversial. He is claimed by both the Digambar and Svetambar sects. He is known as Acharya Umaswati, which is a title prefixed to the names of learned men.A mathematician, he is thought to have...
or Umasvami. It was an attempt to bring together the different elements of the Jain Path, epistemological, metaphysical, cosmological, ethical and practical, otherwise unorganized around the scriptures in an unsystematic format. It is the first Jain text in
sutraSūtra , literally means a thread or line that holds things together, and more metaphorically refers to an aphorism , or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual...
(aphoristic) form. The term Tattvartha is made of the
SanskritSanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. It is also declared as a classical language by the government of India....
words:
TattvaJain metaphysics is based on seven truths or fundamental principles also known as tattva or navatattva, which are an attempt to explain the nature and solution to the human predicament. The first two are the two ontological categories of the soul jīva and the non-soul ajīva, namely the axiom that...
(things or realities) and
artha (true nature). Umaswati is accepted by all the sects of Jains and is said to have lived around the
2nd century BCThe 2nd century BC started the first day of 200 BC and ended the last day of 101 BC. It is considered part of the Classical era, although depending on the region being studied, other terms may be more proper .-Overview:Fresh from its victories in the Second Punic War, the...
.
The Tattvartha Sutra is regarded as the most authoritative book on
JainismJainism is an ancient dharmic religion from India that prescribes a path of non-violence for all forms of living beings in this world. Its philosophy and practice relies mainly on self-effort in progressing the soul on the spiritual ladder to divine consciousness...
. It has the largest number of commentaries in different Indian languages from the fifth century onward. The first verse, "Samyag darshan jnana charitrani moksha margah" सम्यग दर्शन ज्ञान चरित्रानी मोक्षमार्ग:||
summarizes Jainism by saying that right knowledge, right faith and right conduct collectively only are the path to liberation or
mokshaIn Indian religions, Moksha or Mukti , literally "release" , is the liberation from samsara, the cycle of death and rebirth or reincarnation and all of the suffering and limitation of worldly existence after realization of God...
. The first chapter deals with the process of cognition and details about different types of knowledge. The next three chapters deal with the
SoulThe soul, in many religions, spiritual traditions, and philosophies, is the spiritual and eternal part of a living being, commonly held to be separable in existence from the body; distinct from the physical part. It is typically thought to consist of ones consciousness and personality, and can be...
. The fifth chapter discusses Non-soul (
Ajiva). The next three chapters deal with the
karmaKarma in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist philosophies..'Karma' is an Eastern religious concept in contradistinction to...
s and their manifestations and the inflow and the bondage of the karmas. The ninth chapter describes the blocking and shading of the karmas. The final chapter discusses liberation of the soul or the
moksha.
TatvarthSutra can be freely downloaded from http://www.AtmaDharma.com