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The Svetāmbaras accept the existence and validity of the Siddhāntas ( Sacred Works ) but the Digambaras believe that the real s'āstras or religious works have already vanished and the sacred works, which are accepted by the Jaina canon at present, have no validity.
At present, the Sacred Works of the S'vetāmbaras are forty-five in all. Some of them are written in prose and some in verse. There are eleven Angas, twelve Upāngas, ten Prakirnas, six Cheda sūtras, two Sūtras, and four Mūla-sūtras. 3
As seen before, the knowledge of the original preachings of Šramana Bhagavān Mahavira had begun to fade gradually, and hence it was rightly felt by his successors to arrange the preachings into various books. As a result of their efforts, the religious works mentioned above were composed.
Out of these, the four Müla Sūtras are considered as the Original Sūtras or Commandments, as they are primarily needed to guide the Jaina monks in their religious practices. The four Múla Sutras are :-(1) The Avas'yaka ( 2 ) Das'avaikālika (3) Uttarādhyana and ( 4 ) Pinda Niryukti (or Ogha Niryukti). According to Weber, the order of composition of these sūtras is this :-(1) Uttarādhyayana ( 2 ) Āvas'yaka ( 3 ) Das'avaikālika and ( 4 ) Pinda Niryukti.
Of the four Müla Sūtras, the Āvas'yaka as its naine suggests-is the most important of all. It is divided into six sections :-(1) Sāmāyika ( Sāmaiya), (2) Caturvims'ati stava (cauvisattho ), (3) Vandanaka ( Vandanayam ), 4) Prats
3. In addition to the above-named forty-five Sacred Works, some people ennumerate twenty more Prakirnas, twelve Niryuktis and several others arriving at the total number of eighty-four. Again, in order to supplement the information supplied by these eighty-four Agamas there are several other works known as Nigamas or Upanisads which, in turn, are thirty-six in all.
