तत्त्वार्थ सूत्र

Name: Tattvartha Sutra · Chapter 1
Author: Acharya Umaswami

Tattvartha Sutra · Chapter 1

33 verses~40 minAcharya Umaswami

The Tattvartha Sutra — literally "The Sutra on the True Meaning of the Categories" — is the most important systematic text in Jain philosophy. Composed by Acharya Umaswami around the 2nd–4th century CE, it crystallizes the entire Jain worldview into 357 highly-compressed Sanskrit sutras across 10 chapters.

Chapter 1, opens with one of the most famous sutras in all of Jain literature: samyag-darśana-jnāna-cāritrāṇi mokṣa-mārgaḥ — "Right faith, right knowledge, right conduct: this is the path to liberation." From there, the chapter establishes the categories of reality, the means of valid knowledge, and the kinds of knowing the soul is capable of.

This library presents the first 10 sutras of Chapter 1 in the Digambara recension, drawing on Acharya Pujyapada's Sarvarthasiddhi as the authoritative reading.

About the Author

Acharya Umaswami

c. 2nd–4th century CE

Acharya Umaswami (sometimes called Umaswati in Shvetambara tradition) composed the Tattvartha Sutra — the foundational philosophical text of Jainism. It is the rare Jain scripture accepted as authoritative by both Digambara and Shvetambara traditions, though each reads it with its own commentarial lineage.

In the Digambara tradition, Tattvartha is read with Acharya Pujyapada's Sarvarthasiddhi commentary, which establishes the canonical Digambara reading. The Shvetambara tradition reads it with the Tattvartha-bhāṣya (often considered to be by Umaswati himself) and Siddhasena Gani's commentary.

Almost nothing is preserved about Umaswami's life. What survives is the text itself — 357 sutras across 10 chapters, condensing the entire Jain worldview into the most aphoristic Sanskrit possible. Each sutra is a few words; each opens onto centuries of commentary.

This library presents Chapter 1 in the Digambara recension, with the Sarvarthasiddhi reading as the authoritative interpretation.

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