Syādvāda ( Sanskrit : स ् याद ् वाद ) is the theory of conditioned predication , which provide an expression to anekānta by recommending that every phrase or statement be expressed in the optative mood ( the equivalent of the subjunctive mood in Latin and other Indo @-@ European languages ) , i.e. generally by prefacing each sentence with the verb syāt , the third person singular optative of the Sanskrit verb as , " to be " . ( In Sanskrit , syāt become syān when followed by an " n " , and syād when followed by a non @-@ nasal voiced consonant or vowel . ) According to Jain texts , a thing or object of knowledge have infinite characters ( i.e. , it is anekāntātmaka ) ; each character can be analysed and grasped individually . Each individual character is called a naya . Jains assert that a naya reveal only a part of the totality , and should not be mistaken for the whole . A synthesis of different viewpoints is said to be achieved by the doctrine of conditional predications ( syādvāda ) wherein every viewpoint is able to retain its relative importance . Highlighting the indispensability of syādvāda , Acharya Samantabhadra assert :