Theory of Government in Ancient India (Post-Vedic) c11.s2.t1.18

c11.s2.t1.18

¹ Nītivākyāmṛita, pub. in the Manikchand Digambar Jain Granthamālā Series, pp. 1—26. Somadeva Sūri was an Āchārya of the Devasaṃgha, one of the four orders of the Digambar sect of the Jainas. His teacher was Namideva who had been a disciple of Yaśodeva. Somadeva was noted as a great dialectician, a poet of considerable merit and master of Jaina theology and tradition. From Jaina literature it appears that the Devasaṃgha was confined to the south. Somadeva was probably a southerner. His Yaśastilaka Champū too bears traces of southern influence. In spite of his Jaina persuasion Somadeva accepts the authority of Vedas and Smṛitis in worldly affairs. He expressly says that much in his Yaśastilaka.