Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between the theory of many-sidedness (_anekāntavāda_), the theory of viewpoints (_nayavāda_), and the theory of sevenfold conditional predication (_syādvāda_) in the philosophical monographs of the Jaina philosopher Akalaṅka (c. 720-780 CE). Despite being celebrated as novel Jaina contributions to Indian philosophy, the mutual relationship between these three theories is poorly understood. Do these three theories represent three distinct frameworks with distinct purposes? Or do these three theories ultimately synthesise to form a single unified framework? Through a careful study of the _Laghīyastraya_ and the _Nyāyaviniścaya_, this paper shows how Akalaṅka understands _syādvāda_ as the central organising framework for integrating the theory of many-sidedness and the theory of viewpoints. On the one hand, _syādvāda_ is analysed as the synthesis of multiple viewpoints because each of the seven conditional predications, when taken individually, represents a genuine viewpoint. On the other hand, the seven conditional predications of _syādvāda_, when taken collectively and iterated with respect to different characteristics, represent the linguistic formalisation of many-sided (_anekānta_) Jaina ontology. This paper shows how _syādvāda_ as the grand synthesis of the theory of many-sidedness and the theory of viewpoints creates new possibilities as well as new problems within Akalaṅka’s philosophical system.