 The origins of anekāntavāda lie in the teachings of Mahāvīra , who used it effectively to show the relativity of truth and reality . Taking a <unk> viewpoint , Mahāvīra is said to have explained the nature of the soul as both permanent , from the point of view of underlying substance , and temporary , from the point of view of its modes and modification . The importance and antiquity of anekāntavāda are also demonstrated by the fact that it formed the subject matter of <unk> <unk> , the fourth part of the lost <unk> that contained teachings of the <unk> prior to Mahāvīra . German <unk> Hermann Jacobi believes Mahāvīra effectively employed the <unk> of anekāntavāda to refute the <unk> of Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta . <unk> , the second oldest canon of Jainism , contains the first references to syādvāda and saptibhaṅgī . According to <unk> , Mahāvīra advised his disciples to use syādvāda to preach his teachings : 
