Niyamasara is a Jain text authored by ''Acharya Kundakunda'', a

Digambara ''Digambara'' (; "sky-clad") is one of the two major schools of Jainism, the other being '' Śvētāmbara'' (white-clad). The Sanskrit word ''Digambara'' means "sky-clad", referring to their traditional monastic practice of neither possessing ...

Jain

acharya In Indian religions and society, an ''acharya'' (Sanskrit: आचार्य, IAST: ; Pali: ''ācariya'') is a preceptor and expert instructor in matters such as religion, or any other subject. An acharya is a highly learned person with a ...

. It is described by its commentators as the Bhagavat Shastra. It expounds the path to liberation.

Subject matter

''Niyamasara'' deals with the three ethico-spiritual standpoints of understanding ultimate Reality – the Nishcaya naya, the Vyavahara naya and the Shuddha Naya. Niyamasara effectively removes doubts related to Parayayarthika naya and Dravyarthika nayas and elaborates on Vyavahara caritra. He stresses that Vyavahara caritra is based on samyama (self-restraint) and hence rooted in appropriate psychic disposition. He places great emphasis on cleansing the soul of vibhavas, internal impurities, through self-discipline. A unique feature of the Niyamasara is that Kundakunda characterises both Nichcaya caritra and Vyavahara caritra as tapa, or practice of austerity from their respective nayas. This characterization is based on psychological and pragmatic considerations and if put in practice properly it would lead to internal and external purity and annihilation of the four passions. Kundakunda concludes that Vyavahara caritra and Nishcaya caritra together constitute Samyak caritra. Another unique feature of this text is its description of parama samadhi, not found elsewhere in

Jain literature Jain literature (Sanskrit: जैन साहित्य) refers to the literature of the Jain religion. It is a vast and ancient literary tradition, which was initially transmitted orally. The oldest surviving material is contained in the c ...

Citations

References

* * * {{Jainism Topics Jain texts Ancient Indian literature