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Chapter 16: HISTORY OF JAIN SECTS AND SCRIPTURES
Jain scriptures are popularly known as Agams. The term means what comes out (from the mouth of the Lord). It is generally admitted that whatever Lord Mahavir laid down, was composed by his Ganadhars in 12 parts. Sanskrit term for a part is Ang. These 12 compositions are therefore called 12 Angs. These 12 compositions are collectively known as Dwadashängi because Sanskrit equivalent for 12 is Dwadash. Achäräng Sutra is the foremost of them. Sutra Krutang, Samaväyäng, Sthänäng and Vyakhya Pragnapti, which is popularly known as Bhagavati Sutra, are other well known Agams. Based on those 12 Angs the later seers composed 12 auxiliary works, which came to be known as Upängs. That could have been done during a period of 500 years after passing away of Lord Mahavir.
It should be noted that those Angs and Upangs were not written for a long time. They were orally conveyed by the preceptors to their pupils and were thus passed on from generation to generation. Memory of the omniscient Lords being infallible, they could have been retained in the original form up to the time of Jambuswami, who was the last Kevali of the present time cycle. His immediate successors were known as Shrut Kevalis, meaning that they knew all the compositions thoroughly well. During their time some variations might have crept in, because Samväyäng and Nandisutra have some varying versions. Shrut Kevalis and other prominent Acharyas also composed a few subsidiary Sutras known as Mul Sutras, Chhed Sutras etc. They were also considered the authorized versions of the Lord's teaching. Dashvaikälik, Uttaradhyayan and Avashyak are the most well known Sutras belonging to that category. By the time of Bhadrabähuswämi, who was the last Shrut Kevali, there came about quite a few compositions that were admitted as Agams. They were composed in Ardhamägadhi, which was the language understood in the area, where Lord Mahavir moved about during his life.
By about 160 years after the Lord's departure, when Bhadrabähuswämi was the head of the religious order and when Nand dynasty was giving place to Maurya dynasty in Magadha, Pataliputra, the capital city, became the center of learning and knowledge. That time, there occurred a severe famine that seems to have raged for 12 years. During that period of shortage and scarcity it was hard for Jain monks to observe the code of conduct laid down by the Lord. Bhadrabähuswämi therefore decided to migrate to south along with many followers. (According to another version, he went to Nepal.) For those, who stayed behind, it was hard to remember accurately what they had learnt. Hence there came about the varying versions of Agams. The condition might have reached a chaotic stage. A convention was therefore called at Patliputra under the leadership of Acharya Sthulibhadra, who remained at the helm after Bhadrabähuswami left. That convention prepared a uniform version of the Agams. In Jain tradition, that is known as the first Vächanä.
The version so prepared was, however, not found acceptable to most of those who had migrated to south. That was the first major cleavage among the followers of Lord Mahavir. In this connection it would be interesting to dwell a little in the background of that cleavage. When the Lord renounced the worldly life, he seems to have a single cloth over his body. During the first year of his renounced life, that cloth might have been worn, torn or entangled somewhere. After that he did not care to get another one. For the rest of his life, he thus stayed unclad. The immediate followers that he got after omniscience were also presumably unclad. Later on, the followers of Lord Pärshwa acknowledged his leadership. They were covering their bodies with two pieces of cloth. While admitting them in his fold, the Lord does not seem to have objected to their being clad. Thus his Sangha covered the clad as well as the unclad monks and they were amicably staying together. The amity between those two groups might not have survived after the age of omniscient. Though there was no open dispute, there could have been some misunderstanding and loss of fraternity amongst those two groups.
Venerable Sthulibhadra and most of those who stayed in north used to cover their bodies with plain, white cloth; while those who had migrated with Bhadrabähuswämi were mostly unclad. With the cleavage on the authenticity of the Agams, the latter took pride in being the true (unclad)
