Agam 06 Ang 06 Gnatadharma Sutra Part 02 Sthanakvasi

Author(s): Amarmuni, Shreechand Surana, Surendra Bothra, Purushottamsingh Sardar
Publisher: Padma Prakashan

Page 12

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
The means of making the soul pious and pure is Dharma. The subjective basis of Dharma is soul. But in order to achieve the goal of purification it is essential to have the proper and working knowledge of the processes like penance, chanting, meditation, and other such practices. The source of this knowledge are Shastra or religious scriptures.
In every religious tradition the reading, teaching, listening, and study of religious books is done for the purpose of acquiring knowledge about the means of upliftment and the goal; they also give us vivid description of the inspiring lives of great and pious souls who have attained high status with the help of religious conduct. All this helps us follow the right path or proper conduct.
The religious teachings of Bhagavan Mahavir and the path of purification shown by him are compiled as Agams. These scriptures are in the then prevailing language of the common man, Ardhamagadhi-Prakrit. Some time in the past, Ardhamagadhi was the most popular language of the masses, but today it has become a lesser known and so a difficult language. That is why people avoid reading original texts and are content with reading translations in the language they know.
The teachings of Bhagavan Mahavir have been divided subjectwise into four categories titled Anuyog. The first Anuyog or category is Dharma Kathanuyog or the category of religious stories. To preach religion and explain its fundamentals with the help of stories, examples, instances, and metaphors is a simple and absorbing style. As such, this category has proved to be the most accepted and popular
one.
Of the works listed in this category the most famous, interesting, and largest is Jnata Dharma Kathanga. Although Antakritdasha Sutra, Upasakdashang, Anuttaropapatik, Niriyavalika, Rajprashniya, Vipak Sutra etc. are listed in this category, Jnata Dharma Katha Sutra occupies a very special place. The language of this scripture is mature, refined, and flowery. As compared to the stories from other works those in this work are much more interesting and conforming to international standards.
Some of the stories from Jnata Sutra have parallels in Buddhist, Vedic as well as foreign literature. For example the story of Megh Kumar has a parallel in the story of Nand from the Jatak literature; the story of two tortoises has parallels in commentaries on Gita; the
(12)
မောင်