Jain scriptures

Jain literature (Sanskrit: जैन साहित्य) refers to the literature of the Jain religion. It is a vast and ancient literary tradition, which was initially transmitted orally. The oldest surviving material is contained in the canonical ''Jain Agamas,'' which are written in Ardhamagadhi, a Prakrit ( Middle-Indo Aryan) language. Various commentaries were written on these canonical texts by later Jain monks. Later works were also written in other languages, like Sanskrit and Maharashtri Prakrit.

Jain literature is primarily divided between the canons of the ''Digambara'' and '' Śvētāmbara'' orders. These two main sects of Jainism do not always agree on which texts should be considered authoritative.

More recent Jain literature has also been written in other languages, like Marathi, Tamil, Rajasthani, Dhundari, Marwari, Hindi, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam and more recently in English.

Beliefs

The Jain tradition believes that their religion is eternal, and the teachings of the first ''Tirthankara Rishabhanatha'' existed millions of years ago. It states that the ''tirthankaras'' taught in divine preaching halls called ''samavasarana'', which were heard by gods, ascetics and laypersons. These divine discourses were called ''Śhrut Jnāna'' (or heard knowledge) and always comprises eleven '' angas'' and fourteen ''purvas''. The discourses are remembered and transmitted by the '' Ganadharas'' (chief disciples), and is composed of twelve ''angas'' (parts, limbs). It is symbolically represented by a tree with twelve branches. The spoken scriptural language is believed to be ''Ardhamagadhi'' by the Śvētāmbara Jains, and a form of divine sound or sonic resonance by the Digambara Jains.

According to the Jain tradition, the divine ''Śhrut Jnāna'' of a ''tirthankara'' is then converted into ''sutta'' (scripture) by his disciples, and from such ''suttas'' emerge the formal canons. The suttas are grouped into ''duvala samgagani pidaga'' (twelve limbed baskets), which are transmitted orally by the disciples. In every universal cycle of Jain cosmology, twenty-four ''tirthankaras'' appear and so do the Jain scriptures for that cycle.

History

Initially, the canonical scriptures were transmitted through an oral tradition and consisted of teachings of historical Jain leaders like Mahavira codified into various collections. Gautama and other Gandhars (the chief disciples of Mahavira) are said to have compiled the original sacred scriptures which were divided into twelve Angas or parts. They are referred to as the eleven ''Angas'' and the fourteen ''Pūrvas'', since the twelfth Anga comprises fourteen ''Pūrvas''. These scriptures are said to have contained the most comprehensive and accurate description of every branch of Jain learning. The Jain Agamas and their commentaries were composed mainly in Ardhamagadhi Prakrit as well as in Maharashtri Prakrit.

While some authors date the composition of the Jain Agamas starting from the 6th century BCE, some western scholars, such as Ian Whicher and David Carpenter, argue that the earliest portions of Jain canonical works were composed around the 4th or 3rd century BCE. According to Johannes Bronkhorst it is extremely difficult to determine the age of the Jain Agamas, however:

Mainly on linguistic grounds, it has been argued that the Ācārāṅga Sūtra, the Sūtrakṛtāṅga Sūtra, and the Uttarādhyayana Sūtra are among the oldest texts in the canon. This does not guarantee that they actually date from the time of Mahāvīra, nor even from the centuries immediately following his death, nor does it guarantee that all parts of these texts were composed simultaneously.

Elsewhere, Bronkhorst states that the Sūtrakṛtāṅga "dates from the 2nd century BCE at the very earliest," based on how it references the Buddhist theory of momentariness, which is a later scholastic development.

During the reign of Chandragupta Maurya (c. 324 or 321 – c. 297 BCE), Āchārya Bhadrabahu (c. 367 - c. 298 BCE), said to have been the last knower of the complete Jain ''agamas'', was the head of Jain community. At this time, a long famine caused a crisis in the community, who found it difficult to keep the entire Jain canon committed to memory. Bhadrabahu decided to travel south to Karnataka with his adherents and Sthulabhadra, another Jain leader remained behind. The famine decimated the Jain community, leading to the loss of many canonical texts. According to Śvētāmbara ("white-clad") tradition, the agamas were collected on the basis of the collective memory of the ascetics in the first council of Pataliputra under the stewardship of Sthulibhadra in around to 463–367 BCE. During the council, eleven scriptures called Angas were compiled and the remnant of fourteen purvas were written down in a 12th Anga. Another council was later organised in 2nd-century BCE in Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves, Kalinga (now in Odisha) during the reign of Kharavela.

The Śvētāmbara order considers these Jain Agamas as canonical works and sees them as being based on an authentic oral tradition. They consider their collection to represent a continuous tradition, though they accept that their collection is also incomplete because of a lost Anga text and four lost Purva texts.

However, these texts were rejected by the Digambara (lit. "sky-clad", i.e. naked) order, which hold that Āchārya Bhutabali (1st Century CE) was the last ascetic who had partial knowledge of the original canon. According to Digambaras, the ''Purvas'' and the original ''Agamas'' of Gautama were lost during the Mauryan period crisis and famine. This Digambara stance on the loss of the Agamas is one of the disagreements that led to the main schism in Jainism. Digambara masters proceeded to create new scriptures which contained the knowledge of the doctrine that had survived in their community. As such, Digambaras have a different set of canonical scriptures. According to von Glasenapp, the Digambara texts partially agree with the enumerations and works of older Śvētāmbara texts, but in many cases there are also major differences between the texts of the two major Jain traditions.

The Śvētāmbara Siddhāntha

In 453 or 466 CE, the Śvētāmbara order held another council at Vallabhi. The Śvētāmbaras recompiled the Agamas and recorded them as written manuscripts under the leadership of Acharya Shraman Devardhigani along with other 500 Jain scholars. The existing Śvētāmbara canons are based on the Vallabhi council texts.

From the 15th century onwards, various Śvetāmbara subsects began to disagree on the composition of the canon. Mūrtipūjaks ("idol-worshippers") accept 45 texts, while the Sthānakavāsins and Terāpanthins only accept 32.

List of works

The canons (''Siddhāntha'') of the Śvētāmbaras are generally composed of the following texts:
* Twelve ''Angās (limbs)''
** '' Āyāraṃga'' (Sanskrit: ''Ācāranga'', meaning: ‘On monastic conduct’)
** '' Sūyagaḍa'' (''Sūtrakṛtāṅga'', ‘On heretical systems and views’)
** '' Ṭhāṇaṃga'' (''Sthānāṅga'', ‘On different points f the teaching��)
** '' Samavāyaṃga'' (''Samavāyāṅga'', ‘On "rising numerical groups"’)
** '' Viyāha-pannatti / Bhagavaī'' (''Vyākhyā-prajñapti'' or ''Bhagavatī'', ‘Exposition of explanations’ or ‘the holy one’)
** '' Nāyā-dhamma-kahāo'' (''Jñāta-dharmakathānga'', ‘Parables and religious stories’)
** '' Uvāsaga-dasāo'' (''Upāsaka-daśāḥ'',‘Ten chapters on the Jain lay follower’)
** '' Aṇuttarovavāiya-dasāo'' (''Antakṛd-daśāḥ'', ‘Ten chapters on those who put an end to rebirth in this very life’)
** ''Anuttaraupapātikadaśāh'' (''Anuttaropapātika-daśāḥ'', ‘Ten chapters on those who were reborn in the uppermost heavens’)
** '' Paṇha-vāgaraṇa'' (''Praśna-vyākaraṇa'', ‘Questions and explanations’)
** '' Vivāga-suya'' (''Vipākaśruta'',‘Bad or good results of deeds performed’)
*Twelve ''Upāṅgas (auxiliary limbs)''
**''Uvavāiya-sutta'' (Sanskrit: ''Aupapātika-sūtra'',‘Places of rebirth’)
**''Rāya-paseṇaijja'' or ''Rāyapaseṇiya'' (''Rāja-praśnīya'', ‘Questions of the king’)
**''Jīvājīvābhigama'' (''Jīvājīvābhigama'', ‘Classification of animate and inanimate entities’)
**''Pannavaṇā'' (''Prajñāpanā'', ‘Enunciation on topics of philosophy and ethics’)
**''Sūriya-pannatti'' (''Sūrya-prajñapti'', ‘Exposition on the sun’)
**''Jambūdvīpa-pannatti'' (''Jambūdvīpa-prajñapti'', ‘Exposition on the Jambū continent and the Jain universe’)
**''Canda-pannatti'' (''Candra-prajñapti'', ‘Exposition on the moon and the Jain universe’)
**''Nirayāvaliyāo or Kappiya'' (''Narakāvalikā'', ‘Series of stories on characters reborn in hells’)
**''Kappāvaḍaṃsiāo'' (''Kalpāvataṃsikāḥ'', ‘Series of stories on characters reborn in the kalpa heavens’)
**''Pupphiāo'' (''Puṣpikāḥ'', ‘Flowers’ refers to one of the stories’)
**''Puppha-cūliāo'' (''Puṣpa-cūlikāḥ'', ‘The nun Puṣpacūlā’)
**''Vaṇhi-dasāo'' (''Vṛṣṇi-daśāh'', ‘Stories on characters from the legendary dynasty known as Andhaka-Vṛṣṇi’)
* Six ''Chedasūtras'' (Texts relating to the conduct and behaviour of monks and nuns)
** ''Āyāra-dasāo'' (Sanskrit: ''Ācāradaśāh'', ‘Ten haptersabout monastic conduct’, chapter 8 is the famed Kalpa-sūtra.)
** ''Bihā Kappa'' (''Bṛhat Kalpa'', ‘ reatReligious code’)
** '' Vavahāra'' (Vyavahāra, ‘Procedure’)
** '' Nisīha'' (Niśītha, ‘Interdictions’)
** ''Jīya-kappa'' (''Jīta-kalpa'', Customary rules), only accepted as canonical by Mūrti-pūjaks
** ''Mahā-nisīha'' (''Mahā-niśītha'', Large Niśītha), only accepted as canonical by Mūrti-pūjaks
* Four ''Mūlasūtras'' (‘Fundamental texts’ which are foundational works studied by new monastics)
** ''Dasaveyāliya-sutta'' (Sanskrit: ''Daśavaikālika-sūtra''), this is memorized by all new Jain mendicants
** '' Uttarajjhayaṇa-sutta'' (''Uttarādhyayana-sūtra'')
** ''Āvassaya-sutta'' (''Āvaśyaka-sūtra'')
** ''Piṇḍa-nijjutti'' and ''Ogha-nijjutti'' (''Piṇḍa-niryukti'' and ''Ogha-niryukti''), only accepted as canonical by Mūrti-pūjaks
* Two ''Cūlikasūtras'' ("appendixes")
** ''Nandī-sūtra'' - discusses the five types of knowledge
** ''Anuyogadvāra-sūtra'' - a technical treatise on analytical methods, discusses Anekantavada

Miscellaneous collections

To reach the number 45, Mūrtipūjak Śvētāmbara canons contain a "Miscellaneous" collection of supplementary texts, called the ''Paiṇṇaya suttas'' (Sanskrit: ''Prakīrnaka sūtras'', "Miscellaneous"). This section varies in number depending on the individual sub-sect (from 10 texts to over 20). They also often included extra works (often of disputed authorship) named "supernumerary Prakīrṇakas". The Paiṇṇaya texts are generally not considered to have the same kind of authority as the other works in the canon. Most of these works are in Jaina Māhārāṣṭrī Prakrit, unlike the other Śvetāmbara scriptures which tend to be in Ardhamāgadhī. They are therefore most likely later works than the Aṅgas and Upāṅgas.

Mūrtipūjak Jain canons will generally accept 10 Paiṇṇayas as canonical, but there is widespread disagreement on which 10 scriptures are given canonical status. The most widely accepted list of ten scriptures are the following:

*''Cau-saraṇa'' (Sanskrit: ''Catuḥśaraṇa'', The ‘four refuges’)
*''Āura-paccakkhāṇa'' (''Ātura-pratyākhyāna'', ‘Sick man’s renunciation’)
*''Bhatta-parinnā'' (''Bhakta-parijñā'',‘Renunciation of food’)
*''Saṃthāraga'' (''Saṃstāraka'', ‘Straw bed’)
*''Tandula-veyāliya'' (''Taṇḍula-vaicārika'',‘Reflection on rice grains’)
*''Canda-vejjhaya'' (''Candravedhyaka'', ‘Hitting the mark’)
*''Devinda-tthaya'' (''Devendra-stava'', ‘Praise of the kings of gods’)
*''Gaṇi-vijjā'' (''Gaṇi-vidyā'',‘A Gaṇi’s knowledge’)
*''Mahā-paccakkhāṇa'' (''Mahā-pratyākhyāna'',‘Great renunciation’)
*''Vīra-tthava'' (''Vīra-stava'',‘Great renunciation’)

The Digambara Siddhāntha

According to the Digambara tradition, the original scriptures had been lost by about the 2nd century CE. Āchārya Bhutabali is considered the last ascetic who had some partial knowledge of the original canon. Digambara tradition holds that Āchārya Dharasena (1st century CE), guided Āchārya Pushpadanta and Āchārya Bhutabali to write what remained of the lost teachings down into palm-leaf scriptures. These two Āchāryas wrote the '' Ṣaṭkhaṅḍāgama'' (Six Part Scripture), which is held to be one of the oldest Digambara texts. They are dated to between the 2nd to 3rd century CE. Around the same time, Āchārya Gunadhar wrote '' Kaşāyapāhuda'' (Treatise on the Passions).Sagarmal Jain, Shreeprakash Pandey (1998) ''Jainism in a Global Perspective'' p. 239. Collection of Jain papers of 1993 Parliament of World Religions, Chicago. Parshwanath Vidyapith Pubs. These two texts are the two main Digambara Agamas.

The Digambara canon of scriptures includes these two main texts, three commentaries on the main texts, and four (later) ''Anuyogas'' (expositions), consisting of more than 20 texts.

The great commentator Virasena wrote two commentary texts on the ''Ṣaṭkhaṅḍāgama'', the ''Dhaval‑tika'' on the first five volumes and ''Maha‑dhaval‑tika'' on the sixth volume of the ''Ṣaṭkhaṅḍāgama'', around 780 CE. Virasena and his disciple, Jinasena