View source for Religion:Jain Agamas (Śvētāmbara)

{{short description|Texts of Jainism based on the discourses of the tirthankara}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}

'''Agamas''' are texts of [[Philosophy:Jainism|Jainism]] based on the discourses of the ''[[Religion:Tirthankara|tirthankara]]''.
The discourse delivered samavasarana (divine preaching hall) is called ''Śhrut Jnāna'' and comprises eleven ''angas'' and fourteen ''purvas''.{{sfn|Champat Rai Jain|1929|p=135}} The discourse is recorded by ''Ganadharas'' (chief disciples), and is composed of twelve ''angas'' (departments). It is generally represented by a tree with twelve branches.{{sfn|Champat Rai Jain|1929|p=136}} This forms the basis of the Śvētāmbara Jaina ''Agamas'' or canons. These are believed to have originated from [[Biography:Rishabhanatha|Rishabhanatha]], the first ''tirthankara''.{{sfn|Natubhai Shah|2004|p=12}}

The earliest versions of Jain Agamas known were composed in [[Social:Prakrit|Ardhamagadhi Prakrit]]. ''Agama'' is a [[Social:Sanskrit|Sanskrit]] word which signifies the 'coming' of a body of doctrine by means of transmission through a lineage of authoritative teachers.{{sfn|Dundas|2002|p=60}}

==History==
Gautamasvami is said to have compiled the most sacred canonical scriptures comprising twelve parts, also referred to as eleven ''Angas'' and fourteen ''Pūrvas'', since the twelfth Anga comprises the fourteen ''Pūrvas''. These scriptures are said to have contained the most comprehensive and accurate description of every branch of learning that one needs to know.{{sfn|Vijay K. Jain|2012|p=xi}} The knowledge contained in these scriptures was transmitted orally by the teachers to their disciple saints

While some authors date the composition of Jain Agamas starting from the 6th century BCE,<ref>Nagendra Kr. Singh. (2001). Encyclopedia of Jainism (Edited by Nagendra Kr. Singh). New Delhi: Anmol Publications. {{ISBN|81-261-0691-3}} page 4308</ref> noted Indologist Hermann Jacobi holds that the composition of the Jaina siddhanta would fall somewhere about the end of the 4th or the beginning of the 3rd century BC.<ref>{{cite book | last =Jacobi | first =Hermann |  editor =[[Biography:Max Müller|F. Max Müller]] | title =The Ācāranga Sūtra | publisher =The Clarendon Press | year =1884 | location =Oxford | language =English | url =http://www.sacred-texts.com/jai/sbe22/sbe2200.htm | series =Sacred Books of the East vol.22, Part 1 | isbn =0-7007-1538-X }} p. xliii</ref> The general consensus amongst western scholars, such as Ian Whicher and David Carpenter, is that the earliest portions of Jain siddhanta were composed around the 4th or 3rd century BCE.<ref>Yoga: The Indian Tradition. Edited by Ian Whicher and David Carpenter. London: Routledgecurzon, 2003. {{ISBN|0-7007-1288-7}} page 64</ref><ref>C. Chappie (1993) Nonviolence to Animals, Earth and Self in Asian Traditions. Albany: State University of New York Press. {{ISBN|0-7914-1497-3}} page 5</ref> This may not be in agreement with Jain tradition according to which the ''agamic'' literature and the Purvas were passed from one heads of the order to his disciples for around 170 years after the nirvana of Mahavira. However, with time, it became difficult to keep the entire Jain literature committed to memory. In the 3rd century BCE, Chandragupta Maurya was the ruler of [[History:Magadha|Magadha]] and Bhadrabahu, (the last knower of complete Jain ''agamas'') was the head of Jain community. Predicting a 12 year long famine, Bhadrabahu went south to Karnataka with his adherents{{sfn|Melton|Baumann|2010|p=1553}} and Sthulabhadra, another Jain monk remained behind. During this time the knowledge of the doctrine was getting lost. A council was formed at [[History:Pataliputra|Pataliputra]] where eleven scriptures called Angas were compiled and the remnant of fourteen purvas were written down in 12th Anga, Ditthivaya by the adherents of Sthulbhadra. Due to the twelve years of famine it was extremely difficult for the Jain ascetics to preserve the entire canonical literature. The [[Religion:Purvas|Purvas]] or the ancient texts were already forgotten and lost after the famine. According to Svetambara tradition, the agamas were collected on the basis of collective memory of the ascetics in the first council of Pataliputra under the stewardship of  ''Sthulibhadra'' in around to 463–367 BC.<ref>{{cite book | last =Jacobi | first =Hermann | authorlink =Hermann Jacobi | editor =[[Biography:Max Müller|F. Max Müller]] | title =The Ācāranga Sūtra | publisher =The Clarendon Press | year =1884 | location =Oxford | language =English | url =http://www.sacred-texts.com/jai/sbe22/sbe2200.htm | series =Sacred Books of the East vol.22, Part 1 | isbn =0-7007-1538-X }} p. xlii</ref>

In 453 or 466 CE that the Vallabhi council of the Svetambara Jain monks recompiled the Agamas and recorded them as written manuscripts under the leadership of Acharya Shraman Devardhigani along with other 500 Jain scholars. The existing Svetambara texts are based on the Vallabhi council texts. Digambaras reject the authority of the ''Agamas'' compiled at Valabhi.{{sfn|Upinder Singh|2016|p=26}}

== Angas ==
The knowledge of ''Shruta-Jnana'', may be of things which are contained in the ''Angas'' (Limbs or sacred Jain books) or of things outside the Angas.{{sfn|Jaini|1927|p=12}}

The Agamas were composed of the following thirty-four texts:{{sfn|Upinder Singh|2016|p=26}}
* Twelve ''Angās''
** '' Ācāranga sūtra ''
** '' [[Religion:Sutrakritanga|Sūtrakrtanga]] ''
** '' [[Religion:Sthananga Sutra|Sthānānga]] ''
** '' [[Religion:Samavayanga Sutra|Samavāyānga]] ''
** '' Vyākhyāprajñapti or Bhagavati sūtra ''
** '' [[Religion:Jnatrdharmakathah|Jnātrdhārmakathāh]] ''
** '' [[Religion:Upasakadasah|Upāsakadaśāh]] ''
** '' [[Religion:Antakrddaasah|Antakrddaaśāh]] ''
** '' Anuttaraupapātikadaśāh ''
** '' [[Religion:Prasnavyakaranani|Praśnavyākaranani]] ''
** '' [[Religion:Vipakasruta|Vipākaśruta]] ''
** '' [[Religion:Drstivada|Drstivāda]] '' (now extinct)
* Six ''Chedasūtras'' (Texts relating to the conduct and behaviour of monks and nuns)
** ''Ācāradaśāh''
** ''Brhatkalpa''
** ''Vyavahāra''
** ''Niśītha''
** ''Mahāniśītha''
** ''Jītakalpa
* Four ''Mūlasūtras'' (Scriptures which provide a base in the earlier stages of the monkhood)
** ''Daśavaikālika''
** ''Uttarādhyayana''
** ''Āvaśyaka''
** ''Pindaniryukyti
* Ten ''Prakīrnaka sūtras'' (Texts on Independent or miscellaneous subjects)
** ''Catuhśarana''
** ''Āturapratyākhyanā''
** ''Bhaktaparijñā''
** ''Samstāraka''
** ''Tandulavaicarika''
** ''Candravedhyāka''
** ''Devendrastava''
** ''Ganividyā''
** '' Mahāpratyākhyanā''
** ''Vīrastava''
* Two ''Cūlikasūtras'' (The scriptures which further enhance or decorate the meaning of Angas)
** ''Nandī-sūtra''
** ''Anuyogadvāra-sūtra''

== Languages of Aagams ==
The Jain literature includes both religious texts and books on generally secular topics such as sciences, history, and grammar. The Jains have used several languages at different times and in different regions of India. The earliest versions of Jain Agamas known were written in Ardhamagadhi [[Social:Prakrit|Prakrit]] language.{{sfn|Upinder Singh|2016|p=26}}{{sfn|Dundas|2002|p=60-63}}{{sfn|Cort|2010|pp=100-101}}{{sfn|Cort|1998|p=6}}
* [[Social:Prakrit|Prakrit]]
: Prakrit literature includes the Aagams, Aagam-tulya texts, and Siddhanta texts. The dialect used to compose many of these texts is referred to as Jain Prakrit. Composition in Prakrits ceased around the 10th century AD.

==Importance==
For Jains, their scriptures represent the literal words of Mahāvīra and the other fordmakers only to the extent that the Agama is a series of beginning-less, endless and fixed truths, a tradition without any origin, human or divine, which in this world age has been channelled through Sudharma, the last of Mahavira's disciples to survive.{{sfn|Dundas|2002|p=61}}

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
Jinvani.jpg|Stela depicting [[Religion:Jinvani|Jinvani]] (Śhrut Jnāna)
Textsshahpur.jpg|Sacred Jain Books in a Temple Library
Westindischer Maler um 1400 001.jpg|Folio from a [[Religion:Kalpa Sūtra|Kalpa Sūtra]] (Book of Sacred Precepts), c. AD 1400
Djtradition_marhiaji.jpg|''Shrut'' tradition as per ''Digambaras''
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Religion:Jain Agamas (Digambara)|Jain Agamas (Digambara)]]
* [[Religion:Puruşārthasiddhyupāya|Puruşārthasiddhyupāya]]
* [[Religion:List of Jain texts|List of Jain texts]]
* [[Religion:Silappatikaram|Silappatikaram]]

== Citations ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== References ==
* {{citation |editor-last=Cort |editor-first=John E. |title=Open Boundaries: Jain Communities and Cultures in Indian History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yoHfm7BgqTgC |publisher=SUNY Press |date=1998 |isbn=0-7914-3785-X }}
* {{citation |last=Cort |first=John E. |title=Framing the Jina: Narratives of Icons and Idols in Jain History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MDBpq23-0QoC |publisher=[[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]] |date=2010 |orig-year=1953 |isbn=978-0-19-538502-1 }}
* {{citation |last=Dundas |first=Paul |title=The Jains |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X8iAAgAAQBAJ |edition=Second |date=2002 |orig-year=1992 |publisher=[[Company:Routledge|Routledge]] |isbn=0-415-26605-X |location=[[Place:London|London]] and {{wipe|New York City}} }}
* {{citation |last=Jain |first=Champat Rai |title=Risabha Deva - The Founder of Jainism |url=https://archive.org/details/RisabhaDeva-TheFounderOfJainism |publisher=The Indian Press Limited |date=1929 |location=Allahabad |quote={{PD-notice}} |ref={{sfnref|Champat Rai Jain|1929}} }}
* {{citation |last=Jain |first=Vijay K. |title=Acharya Umasvami's Tattvarthsutra |date=2011 |publisher=Vikalp Printers |location=Uttarakhand |isbn=81-903639-2-1 |edition=1st |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zLmx9bvtglkC |quote={{PD-notice}} |ref={{sfnref|Vijay K. Jain|2011}} }}
* {{citation |last=Jain |first=Vijay K. |title=Acharya Amritchandra's Purushartha Siddhyupaya: Realization of the Pure Self, With Hindi and English Translation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4iyUu4Fc2-YC |date=2012 |publisher=Vikalp Printers |isbn=978-81-903639-4-5 |quote={{PD-notice}} |ref={{sfnref|Vijay K. Jain|2012}} }}
* {{citation |last=Jaini |first=Jagmandar Lal |title=Gommatsara Jiva-kanda |url=https://archive.org/download/sacredbooksofthe029558mbp |date=1927 }}
* {{citation |editor-last=Melton |editor-first=J. Gordon |editor-last2=Baumann |editor-first2=Martin |editorlink2=Martin Baumann |title=Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v2yiyLLOj88C |edition=Second |volume=One: A-B |publisher=[[Company:ABC-CLIO|ABC-CLIO]] |date=2010 |isbn=978-1-59884-204-3 }}
* {{citation |last=Shah |first=Natubhai |title=Jainism: The World of Conquerors |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qLNQKGcDIhsC |volume=I |date=2004 |origyear=First published in 1998 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=81-208-1938-1 |ref={{sfnref|Natubhai Shah|2004}} }}
* {{citation |last=Singh |first=Upinder |title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pq2iCwAAQBAJ |publisher=Pearson Education |date=2016 |isbn=978-93-325-6996-6 |ref={{sfnref|Upinder Singh|2016}} }}

==Further reading==
* {{citation |last=Stevenson|first=John |title=The Kalpa Sutra and Nava Tatva (tr. from Magadhi)|url=https://archive.org/stream/kalpasutranavata00stevrich#page/n3/mode/2up|year=1848|publisher=Bernard Quaritch, London}}
*  {{citation |title=Jainism|author= Edward Thomas |publisher=London, Trübner & co. |year=1877|isbn= |page= |url= https://archive.org/stream/jainism_00thom#page/n3/mode/2up|ref= }}
*  {{citation |title=Jaina Sutras Part I (Akaranga Sutra & Kalpa Sutra) |author= Hermann Jacobi|publisher=Oxford, The Clarendon press |year=1884|isbn= |page= |url=https://archive.org/stream/gainastras01aco#page/n7/mode/2up |ref= }}
*  {{citation |title=Jaina Sutras Part II (Uttarâdhyayana Sutra & Sutrakritanga Sutra) |author= Hermann Jacobi|publisher=Oxford, The Clarendon press |year=1884|isbn= |page= |url=https://archive.org/stream/gainastras02jaco#page/n7/mode/2up|ref= }}
*  {{citation |title=The Heart of Jainism|author=Sinclair Stevenson |publisher= H. Milford: Oxford University Press |year=1915|isbn= |page= |url=https://archive.org/stream/theheartofjainis00stevuoft#page/n5/mode/2up|ref= }}
*  {{citation |title=Studies in South Indian Jainism |author=M. S. Ramaswami Ayyangar|author2=B.  Seshagiri Rao|publisher=Premier Press, Madras|year=1922|isbn= |page= |url=https://archive.org/stream/studiesinsouthin00ramarich#page/n5/mode/2up |ref= }}

==External links==
* [http://www.AtmaDharma.com/jainbooks.html www.AtmaDharma.com/jainbooks.html] Original Jain Scriptures (Shastras) with Translations into modern languages such as English, Hindi and Gujarati. Literature such as Kundkund Acharya's Samaysaar, Niyamsaar, Pravachansaar, Panchastikay, Ashtphaud and hundreds of others all in downloadable PDF format.
* [http://www.jainworld.com/literature/jain_agams.asp Jain Agams]
* [http://www.claysanskritlibrary.org/ Clay Sanskrit Library] publishes classical Indian literature, including a number of works of Jain Literature, with facing-page text and translation. Also offers searchable corpus and downloadable materials.


[[Category:Jain texts]]

{{Sourceattribution|Jain Agamas (Śvētāmbara)|1}}