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## Introduction: Three Chhed Sutras: A Critical Study
The place of the Vedas in the Vedic tradition, the Tripitaka in the Buddhist tradition, the Bible in Christianity, and the Quran in Islam is the same as that of the Agam literature in the Jain tradition. The significant difference between the Vedas and the Buddhist and Jain Agam literature is that the sages of the Vedic tradition emphasized the protection of words, while the Jain and Buddhist traditions emphasized the meaning. This is why the words of the Vedas have been largely preserved, but they have not been able to establish a consensus on meaning. The Jain and Buddhist traditions have been completely opposite in this regard. There, the protection of meaning has been emphasized, and meaning has been considered more important than words. This is why there are variations in the texts of the Agams, but there is rarely a difference in meaning. The words of the Vedas have been imbued with mantras, which has preserved the words but destroyed their meaning. The Jain Agam literature, not being imbued with mantra power, has preserved the meaning completely. The Vedas do not represent the views of any particular sage, while the Jain Ganipitaka and the Buddhist Tripitaka represent the words of Lord Mahavira and the Tathagata Buddha respectively. The Tirthankaras have been the formulators of the meaning of the Jain Agams, and the Ganadharas have been the authors of the Sutras. The culture of the Jain and Vedic traditions has been distinct. The folk culture is primarily spiritual. The Jain Agams have primarily resonated with a spiritual tone, while the Vedas have expressed a worldly tone. It should not be forgotten that the things mentioned in the Jain Agams about atomic science, biology, botany, etc., two thousand five hundred years ago, are still astonishing to scientists today. The Jain Agam... literature has been important from many perspectives. Some time ago, the Western and Eastern scholars believed that the Vedas were the original source of the Agams and the Tripitaka, but the ruins found in the excavations of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa have radically changed the scholars' belief that the culture that existed in India before the arrival of the Aryans was fully developed and it was a Shraman culture. Impartial thinkers have unanimously accepted the fact that the Vedic tradition has accepted the five great vows of non-violence, truth, non-stealing, celibacy, and non-possession due to the influence of the Shraman culture. Today, the Vedic...