Q. With reference to the religious history of India, consider the following statements: - Sautrantika and Sammitiya were the sects of Jainism.
- Sarvastivadin held that the constituents of phenomena were not wholly momentary, but existed forever in a latent form.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (UPSC Prelims 2017)
Answer:
2 only
Notes: The correct answer is
[B] 2 only. This question tests your knowledge of the various schools of thought that emerged within ancient Indian religions, specifically Buddhism.
- Sautrantika and Sammitiya (Statement 1 – Incorrect): Both Sautrantika and Sammitiya were sub-sects of Buddhism, not Jainism.
- The Sautrantikas were an early Buddhist school that branched off from the Sarvastivadins. They believed that only the Sutras (discourses of the Buddha) were authoritative, rejecting the Abhidhamma.
- The Sammitiyas belonged to the Pudgalavada (Personalist) tradition of Buddhism, which famously held the controversial belief in the existence of a "person" (pudgala) that persists through rebirths.
- Sarvastivadin Philosophy (Statement 2 – Correct): The term Sarvastivada literally translates to "the doctrine that all exists" (sarvam asti). Unlike some other Buddhist schools that believed things only exist in the present moment, the Sarvastivadins held that the dharmas (constituents of phenomena) exist in all three periods of time: past, present, and future. They argued that while the "state" of a phenomenon changes (becoming manifest or latent), its underlying substance or essence exists forever.
Key Distinction:While the
Theravadins (Sthaviravadins) emphasized the momentariness of all things, the
Sarvastivadins developed a complex temporal philosophy to explain how karma could function across different lifetimes if everything was strictly momentary.
| School | Key Characteristic |
| Theravada | "Teaching of the Elders," oldest surviving branch. |
| Mahasanghika | Precursors to Mahayana; believed in the supra-mundane nature of Buddha. |
| Madhyamaka | Founded by Nagarjuna; centered on the concept of Shunyata (Emptiness). |
| Yogacara | "Mind-only" school; emphasizes that reality is a projection of consciousness. |