Tattvarthadhigama Sutra is the revered scripture of
Jainism. This ancient piece of work was composed by Saint Umasvami. This book commands the respect of both the
Digambara and the
shwetambar sects of the Jain religion. The Digambaras equate the reading of this scripture with the benefits earned by taking a religious fast for a day. This scripture is one of the most commented literary works of Jainism.
Tattvarthadhigama Sutra is composed of 344 ‘sutras’ (aphorisms), arranged chapter-wise. It addresses the fundamental principles of Jainism. In general, it describes the elements of the universe and their interrelationships and reactions. The pure soul, corrupt soul and the non-soul form the major topics in this literary work.
Apart from these topics this text also covers a host of other subjects like anthropology, embryology, geology, mineralogy, physiology, psychology, theology, zoology, anatomy, botany, ethics, metaphysics, physics and logic.
