With reference to the religious history of India, consider the following statements: (UPSC- 2017)1. Sautrantika and Sammitiya were the sects of Jainism.2. 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?
✓ Correct answer: b) 2 only
Explanation2 onlyStatement 1 is not correct.Sautrantika and Sammitiya were the sects of Buddhism.Statement 2 is correct.Sarvastivadin considers everything empirical to be impermanent, they maintain that the dharma factors are eternally existing realities.Sarvastivad in ➢ Believes in the eternal existence of dharma factors. ➢ Considers empirical phenomena as illusory but exist beyond the empirical world. ➢ Affirms the presence of past, present, and future. ➢ Criticized by Sautrantikas for violating the Buddhist idea of impermanence.Sautrantika ➢ Descended from the Sarvastivadins | | UPSC ➢ Relies on sutras rather than Abhidharma commentaries. ➢ Adheres to extreme momentariness, believing only the current moment exists. ➢ Criticizes Sarvastivadin’s belief in the existence of past, present, and future phenomena.Sammitiya and other sub-schools ➢ Branches off from Vatsiputriya, a parent school. ➢ Well-known in Gujarat and Sindh during the Maitraka dynasty. ➢ Speaks Apabhraṃśa as their primary language. ➢ Replaced Sarvastivadins as Sarnath’s most illustrious institution by the 4th century CE. ➢ Split into two sub- schools: Avantakas and Kurukulas.
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