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It is with immense joy that I present this luminous treatise, the Kasayapahuḍa Sutta, to the hands of its readers. For many years, I have harbored a strong desire to bring these original Agamasutras, the most ancient texts of the original Jain literature, to light. After attaining self-rule, the Government of India and ancient historians initiated the search and research of ancient texts to reconstruct ancient culture and Indian history based on the literature written in the ancient languages of the country, and to present its lost glory to the world. Such publications will provide great convenience to the makers of Indian history and research scholars in their research, and for this purpose, it was considered appropriate to reveal the original Agamas and their Churnisutras.
. The teachings of Bhagwan Mahavira, which were compiled and bound by his chief disciples, who are called Ganadharas due to their holding and taking care of the large ganas and sanghas, became famous in the world as 'Dvadaśāṅga Śruta'. This Dvadaśāṅga Śruta was orally circulated among the general public for many centuries by the Acharya-parampara. But as time passed, when the power of people's acceptance and understanding began to decline, some special knowledgeable Acharyas, inspired by the feeling of protecting the Śruta, summarized the various parts of that vast Śruta and bound it in Gathasutras and continued to propagate it among the general public. It has been found by researching within this summarized and Gathasutra-bound Dvadaśāṅga Jain literature that Kasayapahuḍa is the first to be bound. No other ancient composition is available yet.
_ Bhagwan Mahavira's extensive and profound discourses were bound in the form of Sutras by the Ganadharas or the 'special knowledgeable people' who came after them. The characteristic of a Sutra is described as follows:
Alpaakṣaramasandigdham sāravadgūḍhanirṇayam |
Nirdōṣa hetumattathyam sūtramityuchyate budhaiḥ || That is, what is decided in the form of essence by a few unambiguous words, is called a Sutra. Such Sutra-creations have been divided into four types in the Agamas:
Suttam gaṇaharakahiyam taheva patteya buddhakahyam ca. ' Suyakevalinā kahiyam abhinna dasapugvinā kahiyam. (Sutta Pahuḍa)
That is, the words or creations of the Ganadharas, Pratyekabuddhas, Śrutakevalis and Abhinna-Dasapūrvī Acharyas are called Sutras.
According to the above system, Śrīguṇadharācharya's present work, being a knower of a former country, has also become famous as a Sutra due to its being Sutra-like. This is the reason why Ācharya Yativṛṣabha, the creator of the Churnisutras, has mentioned the Gathas of Kasayapahuḍa as 'Suttagāhā' or 'Gāhāsuta' in his Churni. The author himself has also referred to his Gathas as 'Suttagāhā'.