- Tattvartha Sutra
Tattvartha Sutra (also known as Tattvarth-adhigama-sutra or Moksh-Shastra) is a
Jain a text written byAcharya Umaswati 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 insutra (aphoristic) form. The term Tattvartha is made of theSanskrit words: "Tattva" (things or realities) and "artha" (true nature). Umaswati is accepted by all the sects of Jains and is said to have lived around the2nd century BC .Tattvartha-Sutra is regarded as the most authoritative book on
Jainism . 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" summarizes Jainism by saying that right knowledge, right faith and right conduct collectively only are the path to liberation or "moksha ". The first chapter deals with the process of cognition and details about different types of knowledge. The next three chapters deal with theSoul . The fifth chapter discusses Non-soul ("Ajiva"). The next three chapters deal with thekarma 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
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Jain literature
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