such as expiation, reverence, service, renunciation and meditation, according to Umaswati, along with respectful service to teachers and ailing ascetics help shed karma. The state of liberation is presented in Chapter 10 by Umaswati. It is achieved when deluding and obstructive karmas have been destroyed. This leads to the state of quietism and potentiality, and the soul then moves to the end of the universe, states Umaswati. Importance The Tattvartha Sutra is regarded as one of the earliest, most authoritative book on Jainism, and the only text authoritative in both the Digambara and Śvētāmbara sects, and its importance in Jainism is comparable with that of the Brahma Sutras and Yoga Sutras of Patanjali in Hinduism. Commentaries and Translations Commentaries The Tattvartha Sutra has the largest number of Jaina bhashyas or commentaries in different Indian languages from the fifth century onward. There are over twenty-five commentaries and translations of Tattvartha Sutra, including those by: Umasvati himself wrote a commentary on the text. The next oldest and the most famous commentary on the Tattvārthasūtra is Sarvārthasiddhi of Ācārya Pujyapada (sixth century CE). Sarvārthasiddhi along with Akalanka's c. 780 CE Rajavartika and Vijayananda's Slokavarttika (9th century) form the central texts of Digambara monastic students. Translations The text is in sutra form. The word Sutra (Sanskrit: सूत्र) means "string, thread". The root of the word is siv, that which sews and holds things together. In the context of Indian literature, Sutra means a distilled collection of syllables and words, any form or manual of "aphorism, rule, direction" hanging together like threads with which the "teachings of ritual, philosophy, grammar or any field of knowledge" can be woven. The distilled nature of sutra texts leave them open to varying interpretations. The Tattvartha sutra have been variously translated. The first verse of Tattvartha Sutra has been translated as follows, for example: The text has been translated into many languages including English and German, latest being English translation in 1993. See also Samayasāra Jain literature Tattva (Jainism) Notes References Further reading External links Tattvartha Sutra with Sarvarthasiddhi English translation by Vijay K. Jain, 2018 (includes glossary) Tattvarthasutra, with Hindi and English translation on crossasia repository Tattvarthsutra (English) on archive.org Ancient Indian literature Atomism Epistemology of religion Metaphysics of religion Jain texts Jain ethics