<p>This essay argues that the Prakrit Jain verse commentaries called niryuktis form a coherent discourse, the fixed procedures of which illustrate how anekāntavāda works. These procedures are analysed in turn. They are the nayas, the viewpoints. Then come the formalized nikṣepas which apply various parameters to notions or terms in order to circumscribe their meanings and usages. List of synonyms and hermeneutical etymologies similarly aim at extracting all the potentialities of meanings. But, on the other hand, the multi-sided analysis is often reduced to a sharp bipartition or tripartition with polemic purpose especially when it comes to define key-terms of the tradition. Then the ultimate aim is to draw a clear line between what is acceptable in Jain ethics and what is characteristic of other religious groups. Thus the encyclopaedic exegesis of the niryuktis is meant both for transmitting knowledge in the frame of monastic pedagogy and to provide the believer with an adequate frame for proper conduct.</p>