This work includes the literature of Svetambara and Digambara Jainas that has been favourable to the growth of religion and philosophies.The doctrines of the Ajiviyas are the best known heresy to the Nirgranthas. Judging from the frequency of their appearance and the vehemence with care, the author has found that the doctrines of the Ajiviyas played an important role in the life of the Jainas. About the cult of popular Brahmanism, the author has found many references in Jaina literature that have root basis of different schools such as Samkhya and Yoga, Sasvatavadins, Puranists, the Upanisads and minor schools. The Madhyamika schools of the Buddhists and the popular Malayavada which arose as an offshoot of Vedanta owe their origin probably to this school which is met here in the literature of the Jainas for the first time in the history of Indian philosophical thought.The philosophy of the Nastikas or those who deny the existence of the soul was well-known to the Jainas. There is a reference to those who ignore and deny the tenets of the Nirgranthas which Silanka understands as an allusion to the Buddhists and the followers of Brhaspati, the latter being a well-known school of the Nastikas.The philosophical schools mentioned in the Jaina canonical literature were comprehended by Mahavira under heads such as Kriyavada, Akriyavada, Ajnanavada and Vinayavada. Kriya admits the existence of Jiva called Kriyavada, while Akriyavada denies the existence of the soul. The Ajnanavadins deny the necessity or importance of knowledge whereas the Vinayavadins do not accept signs, external rules of ceremony, and scriptures but uphold the supremacy of reference as the cardinal virtue leading to perfection.Besides the philosophical schools, the literature of the Jainas has included interesting information regarding various kinds of religious sects, schismatic schools among Nirgranthas and their criticism.
Editorial Reviews
 | “Rhyne King’s expert use of multilingual documentation makes the satraps and their houses, linked to the House of the King, part of a network that structures the relationships within the ruling class of the Achaemenid Empire and convincingly help us understand its solidity over more than two centuries.”
—Pierre Briant, Professor Emeritus of History and Civilization of the Achaemenid World and the Empire of Alexander the Great, Collège de France
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| “Taking readers on an exhilarating journey from northwestern Anatolia to central Bactria, King elucidates the institution of the satrapal house and its central importance to the functioning of the Achaemenid Empire. Relying on archaeological evidence found across this vast empire and on literary and documentary evidence preserved in five different ancient languages, King’s account is both clear and compelling. The House of the Satrap will be required reading for scholars and graduate students in the fields of Achaemenid and Greek history and should be of great interest to historians and historical sociologists who take a comparative approach to the study of empires.”
—Emily Mackil, author of Creating a Common Polity: Religion, Economy, and Politics in the Making of the Greek Koinon
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| “This splendid book by an exciting scholar elucidates the institutional backbone, primary building block, and main political actor of the Achaemenid Empire, uniting coherent bodies of evidence with distinct historical problems and detecting from the regional and material diversity an imperial commensurability and fractal-like scalability of the satrapal institution. It will have wide appeal and will be much cited.”
—Paul Kosmin, Professor of Ancient History, Harvard University
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