Similarly, there was the Jain doctrine of relative viewpoints (nayava ̄da).
These included seven propositions: 1) An object may be considered in
several connotations at once (naigana-naya). For example, a man may be
both an individual and a representative of the species homo sapiens. 2) An
object may be considered as representing only a generic character (sam.graha-
naya) – a man may represent homo sapiens. 3) An object may embody all
idiosyncrasies of its term (vyavaha ̄ra-naya) – that is, a man may represent
all the connotations people have of him as a person. 4) An object may repre-
sent only a specific moment and place, quite apart from its past or future
(r.jusu ̄ tra-naya). 5) An object may embody synonyms or implications (s ́abda-
naya); 6) An object may be understood only in its conventional meanings,
without regard to its etymology (samabhiru ̄d.ha-naya). 7) An object may be
understood in terms of its etymology (evambhu ̄ ta-naya).^14
It is fair to say that these principles contributed to a climate of tolerance
amongst disputants in the Indian subcontinent in later centuries. While Jain
philosophers were not reluctant to argue that their own position was
the most nearly true, they insisted on the relativity of viewpoints and hence
the necessity to see truth in various positions. Contemporary students of
symbols, engaged in the subdiscipline known as semiotics, could do much
worse than reflect on those Jain principles of interpretation.
Jains were starting to produce their thought in textual form by the third
and second centuries BCE. These early sources included such texts as the
A ̄ca ̄ran.ga,Su ̄ trakr.tan.ga, and Uttara ̄dhyana Su ̄ tras. The canon was edited and
finalized by one Devardnigan.iin 526 CE. Much of Jain thought is in place
by the sixth century CE.
Early Buddhism
Around the sixth century BCE, yet another “heterodox” movement devel-
oped that proved to be highly significant in a number of ways. Founded
by a person variously called Siddha ̄rtha(literally, “he who has achieved his
goal”) or Gautama(from the name of the warrior clan [S ́a ̄kyas] into which
he was born), the movement came to have the name Buddhism.
Little is known of the historical figure who came to be called “the Buddha”
save as later texts multiply stories about him. He was apparently born around
560 BCE(though some scholars suggest a later date) as the crown prince
of a clan chief in the city republic of Kapilavastu in the foothills of the
Himalayas, in an area near Nepal. Siddha ̄rtha was being groomed to the life
of royalty and governance, when, legends tell us, he was curious about his
kingdom and prevailed upon his charioteer to ride him about the city. On
subsequent days, the legend maintains, he saw an old man, a sick person,
and a corpse being borne in a funeral procession. After each sighting he was
The Early Urban Period 41