 Anekāntavāda played a pivotal role in the growth as well as the survival of Jainism in ancient India , especially against <unk> from <unk> , <unk> , Buddhists , Muslims , and Christians at various times . According to Hermann Jacobi , Mahāvīra used such concepts as syādvāda and <unk> to silence some of his opponents . The discussions of the <unk> led by Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta had probably influenced many of their contemporaries and consequently syādvāda may have seemed to them a way out of <unk> . Jacobi further speculates that many of their followers would have gone over to Mahāvīra 's <unk> , convinced of the truth of the <unk> . According to Professor Christopher Key <unk> , anekāntavāda allowed Jains to survive during the most hostile and <unk> moments in history . According to John Koller , professor of Asian studies , anekāntavāda allowed Jain thinkers to maintain the validity of their doctrine , while at the same time <unk> criticizing the views of their opponents . 
