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Again, to the words of the Vedas they attributed magical or mystical power. Hence the meaning of these words faded away. But no such magical or mystical power was attributed to the words of the Buddhist and Jaina scriptures. As a result, the meaning of these words came down to us.
There is also another important point that differentiates the Vedas from the Jaina Agamas and the Buddhist Tripitakas. The Vedic hymns represent the thoughts not of one single person but of a number of them. Hence it is futile to hunt for consistency of thoughts therein. On the other hand, the Buddhist and Jaina scriptures are characterized by no inconsistency. This is so because they embody the thoughts or views of one single person-be he Buddha or Mahāvīral.
Moreover, the words of the Vedas are the words of the original poets themselves, while the words of the Jaina Āgamas are the words not of the original Propounder (Tirthařkara), Mahāvīra, but those of his direct disciples (ganadharas). The Āgamas written by the gañadharas no doubt closely follow the preachings of Lord Mahāvira, but they do not contain the very words spoken by him. Thus here the importance is attached not to the words but to the spirit lying behind. From all this it fol!ows that the two traditions differ on the fundamental question as to whether the word or its meaning is more important. This is why within the fold of Hindu religion there have cropped up numerous religious sects all basing themselves on the Vedas and different philosophers have conceived the nature of soul, world and God in their own ways even though they equally venerate the Vedas as the original scripture. The words of the Vedas are the same but they have been interpreted by them to suit their own views and temperaments. Thus the philosophers have super-imposed their own cherished views on the Vedas.
Quite contrary to this, the Jainas attach value to the meaning-not to the word. So, here there has remained no scope whatsoever for many sects to crop up all claiming the Jaina Āgamas to be their basis. Whatever sects there are in the Jaina tradition are the result not of the divergent meanings ascribed to the Āgamic texts but of the two different view points adopted as regards ācāra (Conduct). No one has tried to interpret the Jaina Āgamas reading into them the meaning that suits one's own peculiar views. The extant works that go by the name Āgamas are not recognized by the Digambara tradition as the original Agamas. Yet it is noteworthy that the very original form in which the Jaina philosophy and religion are presented in these Āgamas is to be found in the Digambara works as well. All
1. "375) HAZ 37TET
júfa 76T fui" Avaśyakaniryukti, gā. 192.
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| SR No. | 001062 |
| Book Title | Nandisutt and Anuogaddaraim |
| Original Sutra Author | Devvachak, Aryarakshit |
| Author | Punyavijay, Dalsukh Malvania, Amrutlal Bhojak |
| Publisher | Mahavir Jain Vidyalay |
| Publication Year | 1968 |
| Total Pages | 764 |
| Language | Prakrit |
| Classification | Book_Devnagari, Agam, Canon, Ethics, agam_nandisutra, & agam_anuyogdwar |
| File Size | 14 MB |