Philosophy In Jain Agams: Concept of Samavasaraṇa in the Context of Philosophical Thinking

The word samavasaraṇa is very famous in the Jain tradition.^[1] In general, it refers to a place which was erected by the heavenly bodies (celestial beings) where the Tīrthaṅkaras delivered their sermons. But, a chapter of the first Śrutaskandha of the Sūyagado, titled Samavasaraṇas gives a completely different meaning. Here, the word 'Samavasaraṇa' means the congregation of different and divergent philosophical views. Particularly, it implies the discussion of divergent philosophical views and doctrines, with a view to navigate through the truth.

There is a mention of four Samavasaraṇa in the Jain agama literature. The 363 theories are included under these four. The twelfth chapter of the first śrutaskandha of Sūtrakṛtaṅga named samavasaraṇa, has the description of the four samavasaraṇas.

cattāri samosaraṇaṇimāṇi pāvāduya jāiṃ puḍho vayaṅti kiriyaṃ akiriyaṃ vinayaṃ ti taiyaṃ aṇṇamāhansu cautthameva^[2]

The place where many philosophies and doctrines get together is called samavasaraṇa.

samavasaramti jesu darisaṇāṇi diṭṭhīo vā tāṇI samosaraṇāṇi^[3]

Kriyāvāda, Akriyāvāda, Ajñānavāda and Vinayavāda, are the four Samvasaraṇas. In the niryukti, they have been established as follows: on the basis of existence - kriyāvāda, on the basis of negation of existence -Akriyāvāda, on the basis of ignorance - Ajñānavāda and on the basis of modesty-Vinayavāda. ^[4]