Syadvadamanjari of Mallisena with the Anyayoga-Vyavaccheda-Dvatrimsika of Hemacandra

Syadvadamanjari is a commentary by Mallisena on anyayoga-Vyavaccheda-Dvatrimsika of Hemacandra, the great jaina scholar, preacher and author, who lived in the time of Siddharaja Jayasimha and his successor, Kumarpala, two famous kings of Gujarat in the first and second half of the twelfth century of the Christian era. This work discusses threadbare the multitudinous variety of problems man has to deal with vis-?-vis this world and the world beyond. It deals with the problem of permanence versus change or the eternal versus the transitory, and shows how the arguments and the counter arguments advanced by each of the two sides annihilate each other. It expatiates on the sanctity of all life, the state of emancipated souls, the theory of knowledge, the nature of reality etc. in short, it discusses ontological, metaphysical, epistemological and ethical issues which form the core of Jainism. It treats highly complicated issues of Philosophy in an erudite, lucid but scholarly manner. It supports its thesis by sophisticated but eloquent and easy to grasp arguments. It closely examines the doctrinal positions of the Carvakas, Buddhist, Samkhya, Mimamsaka, Nyaya, Vaisesika schools of Indian Philosophy. It lays bare the limitations of the theories propounded by these school of thought and goes on to explicate the celebrated Jain doctrine of Naya. The principle that lays down systematically these Nayas (Forms) is called Syadvada or Saptbhangi Naya. This principle demonstrates how one and the same thing may be viewed synthetically or analytically; as one or as many; as one substance or as many attributes or modes. An idea of the importance of this principle can be had from the fact that Mahatma Gandhi recognized the pragmatic utility of this principle in the affairs of day to day life. He acknowledged his indebtedness to this principle when he said that he, no less than his critics, had a valid position, on a particular issue as each took his stand from his particular point of view. This is what constitutes essence of Syadvada. In fact, Syadvadamanjari which dilates at length on this principle, occupied the pride of place in the reading list of Mahatma Gandhi. The present edition of Syadvadamanjari was first published in 1933 with a long introduction and exhaustive notes by Professor A.B. Dhruva. The book has been out of print for along time now. The reprint is now being brought out to fulfil a long-felt need of teachers, students and scholars as well as lay persons who are interested in Indian Philosophy in general and Jainism in particular.