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THE GREAT SCRIPTURES OF JAINS
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of human beings it provided a list of 26 countries of the Āryans, which is important for the study of ancient Geography.
The fifth, sixth and seventh Upānga are scientific works dealing with astronomy and Geography. .. The remaining 5 Upāngas from one chapter each of the Nirayavali Sutta, having legendary contents. Ten Painnas :
Painnas are minor works corresponding to the Pariśistas in Vedic literature. They are said to be the compositions of Pratyeka Buddhas, i.e., the souls attaining realization in their independent way. The subject matter of Painnas is miscellaneous. Most of them deal with how a Bhikkhu renounces his body in the last days. There are two types of death. The death of a true aspirant is Panditamaraņa. He renounces all attachment in his last days and dies peacefully. On the other hand the death of a disbeliever is Bāla maraña. Even in his last days he keeps himself attached to his wealth, relatives and body. He dies a painful death. The Painnas describe both types of death in detail. Tandula Veyaliya Painna deals with human physiology.
The Sthānakavāsī sect of Jains does not recognize this class of works as canonical. Six Chheda Sūtras :
The term Chheda means a cut. A punishment of cut into the period of ascetic life is proposed when a monk is found guilty. On this basis, the entire class of works dealing with the punishments and prohibitions is
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