ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 04

Author(s): International School for Jain Studies
Publisher: International School for Jain Studies

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1.4
Some Aspects of Jaina Narrative Literature
Dr. Prem Suman Jain
1.0 Introduction Jainas have developed a rich literary activity at all the times. The majority of Jaina writers belong to the spiritual class; they are either monks who take advantage of the four months of monsoon (caturm sa) during which they are not allowed to wander and must take up on their literary activity, or those who have settled down at a place. The character and the content of Jaina- literature shows the predominance of the clerical element among the authors, and this, incidentally, agrees fully with the Indian literature in general. These works are mainly theological and philosophical treatises, legends of saints, didactic works and laudations of the Tirtha karas. The basic religious feature also emerges strongly in works having mundane contents, in books of science and poetry and works of narrative literature.
2.0 Tradition of Jaina Literature According to the Jaina tradition, the teachings of the religion were recorded in the period of the first Tirtha kara Rsabha himself; the Holy Scriptures always existed in the times in which the churches of the individual Tirtha kara prospered. It is true that they were forgotten in the intervals (in between the periods of a few Tirtha karas), during which the doctrine disappeared, but they were proclaimed again anew by every prophet. According to a tradition of the orthodox people which is propagated today, the holy scriptures from the period of all the Tirtha karas should essentially agree with one another (as also the life stories of the Tirtha karas in their important points), and only the names are supposed to vary in them.
Like the teachings of his predecessors, Mah vra's teachings also have been recorded in certain works. His disciples, the Ga adharas, brought them down to the posterity in 12 A gas of which the last consists of the so-called 14 "Prvas" ("earlier" works). According to one tradition, apostles are said to have brought the contents of the lectures of the Master at first in the 14 P rvas in a text-form and then worked them out into the A gas. The canon consisting of these and other works was faithfully preserved by the leaders of the community among the first followers of Mah vra. However, the parts of the canon fell into confusion with the time.
A council was called in around 300 B.C in Pataliputra, according to the tradition of vet mbaras, to put together the canon anew. It was found in it that the last of the great Holy Scriptures, the socalled 12th A ga, which comprised of the 14 works called Prva, were not any more in an authentic tradition. In spite of efforts this could not be saved. But the remaining holy works were preserved and they finally edited in the council of Valabh Gujarat) in the year after Mah v ra under the leadership of Devarddhi and first time put down in script (till then, all the holy "scriptures" are said to have been committed only orally from teacher to pupil). The canon of vet mbaras of today is according to their opinion, the corpus of work, which was fixed at time.
Digambaras agree with vet mbaras that Bhadrad hu is considered to be the last teacher with knowledge of 14 P rvas. But according to them, the genuine canon is also forgotten. Subsequently the people who knew were few and finally only a fragmentary portion was written down by Puspadanta and Bhutabali, in the year 683 after Mah v ra. Since then, all knowledge about the doctrine proclaimed by Mah vra could not any more be derived from the Agas, but only from the works whose contents rest indirectly upon the lost canon.
While thus vet mbaras boast to possess even today the genuine canon, albeit in incomplete form, Digambaras are of view that the canon is lost once for all and that the holy scriptures of vet mbaras are not genuine; a collection of books written in a later period serve them as a guiding principle of their faith. They can be regarded as a "secondary canon" in view of the authority they enjoy.
2.1 The meaning of Jaina gama The preaching of nirgranthas (niggantha pavayana). Lord Mah vra and his disciples are called gama. gama is also known as S tra, grantha, sana, jň na, v can, upade a, or pravacana.
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