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**Pinḍaniyukti:** A commentary known as the first exegetical literature of the Jain Āgamas. According to the Digambara tradition, the Āgama texts were lost over time, hence the Niyukti literature is only accepted in the Śvetāmbara tradition. The Śvetāmbara Mūrtipūjak tradition considers the Niyukti literature along with 45 Āgamas as authoritative, but the Sthānakavāsī and Terāpanthī traditions accept 11 Angas, 12 Upangas, 4 Mūlas, 4 Chhedas, and 1 Āvashyak - these 32 Āgamas as authoritative. The remaining Niyukti literature is not accepted as Āgama-authoritative.
**Nature of Niyukti:**
The first commentary on the Āgamas is Niyukti, hence it is not an independent scripture but is subject to its own sūtra. Just as Yāska explained the Vedic technical terms through Nirukta, similarly the Niyuktikāra explained the technical terms used in the Jain Āgamas through the Nikshepa method. In the Nikshepa method, the meaning of a word used in various fields is revealed, and it is revealed what its meaning is in the presented context. The Niyukti literature is written in Mahārāṣṭrī Prakrit language, it mainly uses Āryā chanda but sometimes Doha and Indravajra etc. chandas are also used.
Āchārya Bhadrabahu, while explaining the word Niyukti, says - 'Nijjuttā te atthā, jaṁ baddhā teṇ hoī nijjuttī' i.e. that by which the meaning assigned in the sūtra is decided, that is Niyukti. Certainly, the purpose of Niyukti is to decide the correct meaning and to reveal the interconnected meaning in the sūtra itself. According to Āchārya Haribhadra, explaining the word by action, agent, difference, and synonym or revealing the meaning is Nirukti-Niyukti. According to the German scholar Schantier, Niyuktis are primarily:
1. Mavṛ 1; Niruktayō na svatantra śāstrarūpāḥ, kintu tattatsūtraparatantraḥ.
2. Āvani 82.
3. (a) Vibhā 1086; Jaṁ nicchayaijuttā, sutte atthā imīe vakkhāyā.
Teṇeyam nijjuttī, nijjattathābhihānāō.
(b) Sūṭī p.1: Yojanam yuktiḥ arthaghaṭanā niścayena adhikyeṇa vā yuktirniyuktiḥ samyagarthaprakatanam.
Niruktanām vā sūtreṣveva parasparasambaddhānām arthānām āvirbhāvanam yuktaśabdalopānniyuktiḥ.
(c) Āvamṭī p. 100; Sūtrārthayoḥ parasparam niryojanam sambandhanam niyuktiḥ.
(d) Oniṭī p. 4; Ni:ādikye yojanam yuktiḥ sūtrārthayoḥ yogo nitya vyavasthita evāste vācyavācakatayeti arthah.
Adhikā yojanā niyuktirūcyate, niyatā niścitā vā yojanēti.
(e) Āvacū 1 p. 92 Suttanijjuttaththanijjūhaṇam nijjuttī.
4. Āvahāṭī Bhā. 1 p. 242.