________________
D
ta forgata
AGAMIC LITERATURE
The Agamic literature of the jainas mainly consists of thirty two texts which are divided into three groups of works known as Purvas (older), Angs (inner corpus) and Angabāhyas (outer corpus), all handed down in the ancient language, Ardhamāgadhi.
The Pūrvas : These include fourteen works of great antiquity claimed by the Jainas to go back to the time of Lord Pārsva. Unfortunately, these texts are no longer extant, only a brief description of their content is available in the later literature. The twelve Angas or limbs are as follows : 1. Acāranga, 2. Sūtrakstānga, 3. Sthànānga, 4. Samavayanga, 5. Vyakhyaprajñapti (Bhagavati), 6. Jñatrdharmakatha, 7. Upāsakadasah, 8. Antakyddasah, 9. Anuttara-upapātika, 10. Prasna-vyākarana, 11. Vipākaand, 12. Drstivada-now extinct.
The supplements and the commentaries of these texts are found in the form of Upangas, Chedas, Mūlas and Āvasyakas. The twelve Uparigas are as follows :
1. Aupapātika, 2. Rājpraśniya, 3. Jivājīvābhigama, 4. Prajñāpanā, 5. Suryaprajñapti, 6. Jambūdvipaprajnapti, 7. Candraprajñapti, 8. Nirayávali, 9. Kalpavtamsikaḥ, 10. Puspikāh, 11. Puşpacūlikāh and 12. Vrsņidaśah.
Jain Education International 2010_03
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
