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HISTORY OF JAIN SECTS AND SCRIPTURES Digambars started writing their text of the Agams on the basis of knowledge at their command. Acharyas Dhärsen and Gunadhara who happened to be in the line of Bhadrabähuswami, were very knowledgeable. Their successors prepared the Shatakhand-agam, (also known as Mahakammapayadi-pahuda or Maha-karma-prabhrut) and Kasay-pahud that are collectively known as Pratham Shruta Skandha or the first collection of scriptures.
This could have occurred some time after the Patliputra convention. During the second century AD the most venerable Kundkundächärya wrote Samay-sär, Pravachan-sär, Niyama-sär, Panchästikäya, and Ashtapähud, which are known as Dwitiya Shruta Skandha or second collection of scriptures. His Samay-sär, Pravachan-sär and Panchästikäya are held in high esteem even by Non-Digambars. Digambar sect accepts these works as the most authentic Jain Agams and most of the subsequent Digambar literature is based on them. In about 200 A.D. Honorable Umäsvämi or Umäsväti wrote his Tattvärtha-sutra in the Sanskrit language giving the entire essence of Jainism. Luckily this book happens to be acceptable to all the sects of Jainism. This shows that despite the outward differences, there are no disputes among them about any of Jainism fundamentals. Many Acharyas of both denominations have written several commentaries on this book.
A subsequent well-known author is Honorable Acharya Siddhasen Diwäkar Suri who lived during the time of King Vikramaditya. He seems to have written on many aspects of Jainism. His Sanmati-Tarka is considered a masterly book and is enthusiastically studied by scholars even at present. Sarvärtha Siddhi of Pujyapäd-swami in the 5th or 6th century and Shad-darshan Samuchchaya and Yoga Drishti Samuchchaya of Acharya Haribhadra-suri in the 8th century are the major works after the compilations of the Agams. By that time, idol worship was firmly established and many temples were built. This necessitated the help of well-versed people for consecrating the idols and for performing various rituals. In the Shvetämbar sect this led to the rise of renegade monks known as Yatis. They used to stay in the temples and therefore came to be known as Chaityaväsis. They lived in affluence and availed themselves of all the comforts of life. Haribhadra-suri was the first to criticize their excesses. The evil however seems to have continued long after that.
Noteworthy works after this period are the Mahäpurän of Digambar Acharya Jinsen (770-850 A.D.) and the Trishashti Shaläkä Purusha of (Hemchandrächärya 1088-1173 A.D.). Both these works are voluminous and deal with the lives of Tirthankars and other illustrious personalities. Serious efforts were made to curtail the excesses of Yatis in the 11th century by Vardhamänsuri. This was continued by his successors Jineshwar-suri and Jindatta-suri. The latter is popularly known as Dada. He founded the Kharatar Gachchha meaning purer sect in about 1150 A.D.
So far we have talked about the contribution of well-known Acharyas. Now we come to the contribution of a layman. He was Lonkashah of Ahmedabad. He could not believe that excesses of the Yatis could have religious sanction. However scriptures were not accessible by householders. Luckily, a monk once happened to see the neat handwriting of Lonkashah. He therefore hired him to make copies of the scriptures. Equipped with that knowledge he came out with a heavy hand against temples and temple rituals (Chaityaväsis) in 1451. Based on his study of the Agams, he also disputed idol worship as being against original Jain tenets. This was the preamble for setting up the Sthänakaväsi sect, which came into existence as
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JAIN PHILOSOPHY AND PRACTICE I
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