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RELIGIOUS AND PHILOSOPHICAL LITERATURE
The canon forms the earliest Jaina literature. The essence of the Jaina canon lies in the teachings of Lord Mahāvīra. The Anga text forms the nucleus of the entire
canon.
The canonical texts are broadly divided into two groups: Anga-praviṣṭa and Anga-bahya. The authorship of the first group is attributed to the Ganadharas (Principal Disciples) of Mahāvīra, whereas that of the second group is ascribed to different Sthaviras (Senior Preceptors). The credit of editing the available canon goes to preceptor Devardhigaṇi Kṣamāśramana who flourished after a thousand years of the liberation of Lord Mahāvīra.
The Jaina monks held three councils to recollect, revise and redact the holy teachings of Lord Mahāvīra. The first council was held at Paṭaliputra (Patna) after 160 years of the liberation of Lord Mahāvīra when the twelve years' long famine ended. The monks who assembled there could recollect only eleven Angas. It was, however, not possible for them to recall the twelfth Anga, viz., the Dṛṣṭi- vada. It was only preceptor Bhadrabāhu who possessed knowledge of that text at that time. He could not participate in the council, as he was already engaged in some specific course of meditation in Nepal. The council deputed Sthulabhadra and some other monks to go to Nepal and learn the Drstivada from preceptor Bhadrabahu. It was, however, only Sthulabhadra who could acquire knowledge
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