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The Samvayanga and Nandī Sūtra introduce the Anuttaraupapātika, stating, "This Sūtra is described as such." This means that the Anuttaraupapātika has countless Anuyogadwār, countless Vedha, countless Śloka, countless Niyukti, countless Sangrahaṇī, and countless Pratipatti. This Sūtra contains one Śruta Skandha, three Varga, ten Adhyayana, countless Akshara, infinite Gam, and infinite Paryaya.
This Sūtra describes a finite number of Trasa Jīvas and an infinite number of Sthāvara Jīvas. All these substances are described in their essence and are also organized through examples and reasons. All these substances are also presented in the Sūtra through names, establishment, etc. Thus, the soul who understands this Sūtra becomes the knower, the cognizer, and the seer of these subjects. In this way, the Sūtra presents the form of Charanakaran.
The Nandī Sūtra also presents the subjects in a similar way to the Samvayanga Sūtra. However, the Nandī Sūtra does not mention the number of Adhyayana. According to the Nandī Sūtra, the Uddesana of the Anuttaraupapātika takes place in three days, while according to the Samvayanga, it takes ten days. The Nandī Sūtra mentions this subject as follows: "Ege Suyakkhande, Tinni Vagga, Tinni Uddesanakala." This means, "In this ninth Anga, there are three Varga and three Uddesana Kala." It is clear that the name Adhyayana is not mentioned here. However, the Samvayanga mentions ten Adhyayana. The commentators of the Samvayanga write that the reason for this difference is not known: "Iha tu Dṛśyante Daśa-iti Atra Abhiprāyo Na Jñāyate Iti." This difference clearly shows that the order or flow of our Āgama Śāstra has been particularly fragmented.
The Sthānānga Sūtra only mentions ten Adhyayana. According to the Tattvārtharāja Vārtika, this Āgama describes ten Anuttaraupapātika Śramaṇa who appear in the time of each Tīrthankara. The Kaṣāya Pāhuḍ also supports this.
What is the difference between this Sūtra available today and the one available in ancient times? The answer is as follows:
The existence of three Varga is not mentioned in the four texts, including the Rāja Vārtika. Some of the names mentioned in the Sthānānga and Rāja Vārtika are available in the current Sūtra. For example, the name Vāriṣeṇa (Rāja Vārtika) is in the first Varga. Similarly, the three names Dhanya, Sunakṣatra, and Ṛṣidasa (Sthānānga and Rāja Vārtika) are mentioned in the third Varga. These four names are available in the current Sūtra, but no other names are mentioned. The other names mentioned in the current text are not found in the Sthānānga or the Rāja Vārtika. The commentator of the Sthānānga Sūtra, Śrī Abhaydeva Sūri, states that the names mentioned in the Sthānānga may be found in another recitation of the current Sūtra. The current recitation is different from that recitation.
The number of words in the current Sūtra is mentioned as countless lakhs in the Samvayanga Sūtra, and its commentary mentions forty-six lakhs and eight thousand (46,08,000) words. The original Nandī Sūtra mentions countless thousands of words. The commentary also mentions countless thousands of words. The Dhavala and Jaya-Dhavala mention 92,44,000 (ninety-two lakhs forty-four thousand) words. The Rāja Vārtika does not mention the number of words anywhere.
The current Anuttaraupapātika Sūtra is slightly different from the ancient Anuttaraupapātika Sūtra. The first Varga has ten Adhyayana.
1. Nandī Sūtra p. 233, Sū. 54
2. Samvayanga Vṛtti p. 114
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