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Ethical Literature of the Jainas Anga, dışțivāda. Bhadrabāhu, who was practising Mahāprāņa penance at Nepāla, knew drsțivāda and agreed to teach it, at the instance of Samgha, to 500 Sādhus, only Sthūlabhadra among whom could stay to the last. But even he, out of 14 pūrvas, which formed part of the last Arga, could learn only 10 pūrvas completely; the last four pūrvas were taught to him verbally, without giving their meanings. With the death of Sthūlabhadra in 215 Vira Nirvāņa Saṁvat (312 B.C.), the knowledge of these last four Pūrvas was lost for ever, because he was debarred from teaching these by Bhadrabāhu. After this, the knowledge of pūrvas was gradually on decay, and the last ācārya, Vajra, who knew 10 pūrvas, died in 584 Vira Samvat (57 A.D.). According to Svetāmbaras, these pūrvas were completely lost in Vira Samvat 1000 (473 A.D.). According to Digambaras, the last Acārya, who knew 10 pūrvas, was Dharmasena, who died in 345 Vira Samvat (182 B.C.), when the knowledge of the pūrvas was completely lost.
According to Digambara tradition, after the death of Dharmasena (182 B.C.), five more ācāryas possessed the knowledge of eleyen Argas for 220 years more (i.e. upto 38 A.D.), after which four ācāryas possessed the knowledge of the first Anga, Ācārānga only, for 118 years more (i.e. upto A.D. 156).6 After this period, only a small part of Argas existed, the rest of it being lost for ever.
The Svetāmbara tradition, however, does not agree with it. It holds that though the last Anga, Drsțivāda, was lost in 473 A.D., yet the remaining eleven Angas are available to us. It is, however, true that all the Angas handed down to us are not the result of the first council of Pāțali putra.
Council of Mathurā (4th Cent. A.D.) :
In the time of Skandila Sūri (Vira Samvat 827 to 840
1. Jinadāsaganimahattar, on Avasyaka, Ratlam, 1928, part II. p. 187. 2. Referred to as "Vira Samvat' hereafter. 3. Muni Kalyāņa, Vijaya Vira nirvāṇa samvat aura Jaina kālagananā,
Jalore, Vik. Sam. 1987, pp. 98-103. 4. Kapadia, H.R., A History of the Canonical Literature of the Jainas,
Surat. 1941, pp. 73-74. 5. Satkhandägama, Vol. I, prastāvanā, p. 26. 6. Kaşayapāhuda, Vol. I, krastāvanā, p. 49.
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