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JAINA MONASTIC JURISPRUDENCE liar in the svetāmbara canon, though their grouping is different. The third group of anuyogas contains texts belonging to scholars like Kundakunda (1st century A.D.), Umāsvātī, Vattakera and Samantabhadra (8th century A.D.). It will at once be realised that the Digambara canon comprises texts of widely different periods, though it is not possible to assign each and every text in it to a definite date.
The upshot of the whole matter may be summarized now. We have seen that the canon of the śvetāmbaras was finally redacted at the second council of Valabhī in about the 6th century A.D. We have also seen that the Digambaras disown this canon and instead propose a list of texts grouped under different categories. Even then, some of the names of the texts of the canon of both agree. Moreover, the contents of some, e.g. Mūlācāra and Dasaveyaliya agree in some cases ad verbum. The angas are held in high esteem by both. Many of the details of monastic life and jurisprudence -- as will be seen later on — tally well in the texts of the Digambaras and the svetāmbaras. And lastly, several of the authors like Umāsvāti, Siddhasena Divākara, and others who have contributed to the making up of Jaina literature, are respected by both these sects.
These, in short, are the salient features of the nature of evidence at hand for the proper understanding of Jaina monastic jurisprudence. The very points of similarity, as. noted above, do not imply a wide divergence in the nature of material for the study of jurisprudence. It would thus, be possible to study monastic jurisprudence of the Jainas. as a whole without any sectarian approach. The following: pages, therefore, attempt to present the overall picture: of the working of the internal organizational discipline of Jaina monachism. The picture that will emerge is hoped to be completely non-sectarian and unbiased. The author is fully conscious of the fact that the texts available to him were mainly of the śvetāmbara group. Yet the details available have been checked from the Digambara texts as.
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