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NOTES
Book I
1. We pay obeisance to the five advanced souls, viz., arihantas (victors), siddhas (liberated souls), āyariyas (preceptors), uvajjhāyas (teachers) and sāhus (monks) in all the spheres, because they show us the way.
2. The script given by the first tirthankara Rşabha to his daughter Brāhmi, from whom the script derives its name. This is considered by the Jainas to be the original script, parent of all subsequent scripts. As the words of the Jin as are preserved and transmitted through this script, it is deserving of obeisance. Besides, obeisance to the script is obeisance to its giver too.
3. The word 'śruta' (scriptures) includes canonical literature of the Jainas and has a broader coverage than the Hindu word
śruti'. Starting with the three words of Mahāvira, utpāda (formation), dhrauvya (permanence) and vyaya (decay), the leading-most of his immediate disciples called gañadharas produced canonical works as per their own understanding of the three words. Initially preserved through memory, the first compilation took place at a gap of 160 years after the death of Mahāvira at Pāțaliputra. The process of compilation passed through a few stages till it was stopped with the preparation of the final redaction of the canons at the council of Valabhi under the presidency of Ācārya Devardhi Gaņi in 454 (467 ?) A. D. The casual references to the books representing various divisions of the said canons suggest a stratification of the Angas, Upangas and the rest, and a chronology of their gradual development. The prccess of growth is comparable to that of an embryo in the womb, the various parts and limbs manifesting themselves one after the other, till the organism reaches its final form.
