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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.
This agama describes nonviolence, Jain metaphysics, and the refutation of other religious theories such as Kriyavada, Akriyavada, Ajnanavada, and Vinayavada. Sanskrit commentary has been done by Silanka who lived in the second half of the ninth century A.D.
The Ācārāṅga Sūtra, the foremost and oldest Jain text (First book c. 5th–4th century BCE; Second book c. Late 4th–2nd century BCE), [1] is the first of the twelve Angas, part of the agamas which were compiled based on the teachings of 24th Tirthankara Mahavira.
The Ṣaṭkhaṇḍāgama (Prakrit: "Scripture in Six Parts") is the only canonical piece of literature of Digambara sect of Jainism. [1] According to Digambara tradition, the original teachings of lord Mahavira were passed on orally from Ganadhar, the chief disciple of Mahavira to his disciples and so on as they had the capability of listening and remembering it for always.
The Prakirnaka Sutras (also known simply as the Prakirnaka) are a series of Jain religious texts. Only ten of the twenty Prakirnaka are recognized by the Śvetāmbara Jains. [1] These Sutras deal with the "Great Virtues", the Mahavratas, and death. They also name hymns and prayers.
Siddhasena Divakara-a jain monk of the Śvetāmbara sect in the fifth century CE who wrote works on Jain philosophy and epistemology. [4] [5] [6] He is credited with the authorship of many Jain scriptures. Sanmatitarka (‘The Logic of the True Doctrine’) is the first major Jain work on logic written in Sanskrit.
The Vyākhyāprajñapti is said to have been composed by Sudharmaswami by the Śvētāmbara school of Jainism; it is written in Jain Prakrit. It is the largest text of the canon, said to contain 36,000 questions answered by Mahavira. The subject matter of the answers ranges from doctrine to rules of ascetic behaviour.
The Kalpa Sūtra (Sanskrit: कल्पसूत्र) is a Jain text containing the biographies of the Jain Tirthankaras, notably Parshvanatha and Mahavira. [1] Traditionally ascribed to Bhadrabahu , which would place it in the 4th century BCE, [ 2 ] it was probably put in writing 980 or 993 years after the Nirvana ( Moksha ) of Mahavira.