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## Introduction
The foundation of Jain religion, philosophy and culture is the word of the omniscient. Omniscient means the one who sees the self. Only those who see the self completely can see the entire universe. Those who know the whole can truly describe the essence. They can truly preach the ultimate good and liberation.
The knowledge of the essence, self-knowledge and the right understanding of conduct and behavior as stated by the omniscient is known as 'Agam', scripture or sutra.
The words of the Tirthankaras are like a shower of fragrant flowers. Great wise men, the Ganadharas, compile them in the form of sutras and give them the form of organized 'Agam'.
What we call 'Agam' today was called 'Ganipitaka' in ancient times. The 'Ganipitaka' includes the entire twelve-fold scripture. Later, its parts, sub-parts, roots, etc. were divided into many categories.
When there was no tradition of writing, the Agams were preserved based on memory or through the Guru tradition. For almost a thousand years after Lord Mahavira, the 'Agam' followed the tradition of memory. Due to weakness of memory, the breaking of the Guru tradition and many other reasons, the knowledge of the Agam gradually disappeared. The water of the great lake dried up, leaving only the footprint of the cow. Then, Devardvigani Kshamasraman called a meeting of the Shramans and made a historic attempt to preserve the knowledge of the Agam, which was disappearing due to memory lapses, and to preserve the words of the Jinas. He compiled the words of the Jinas into books and did an indescribable favor to future generations. This was an amazing undertaking to keep the stream of Jain religion, philosophy and culture flowing. This first compilation of the Agams was completed 980 or 993 years after the Nirvana of the hero.
After being compiled into books, the form of the Jain Agams was preserved in its original form, but due to the passage of time, external attacks, internal differences of opinion, conflict, weakness of memory and negligence, the pure stream of Agam knowledge, the right understanding of the Guru tradition, gradually weakened. Many important references, words and hidden meanings of the Agams became fragmented. The Agams that were written were not completely pure. There were very few who could give the right understanding of their meaning. Due to many other reasons, the stream of Agam knowledge became narrow.
In the sixteenth century Vikram, Lonkashah made a revolutionary effort. A bold attempt to describe the pure and true meaning of the Agams was started again. But after some time, obstacles arose again. Communal hatred, theoretical conflict and the lack of knowledge of language among the scribes became a major obstacle in the achievement of the Agams and their correct understanding.
In the first phase of the nineteenth century, when the tradition of printing the Agams began, readers got some convenience...