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Unfortunately, all the above mentioned works are not available today. Some of them are lost. Out of twelve Anga Āgamas, the 7th chapter of Ācārānga (Mahaparijña) and the major portion of Drstivāda are said to be extinct. So far as the subject inatter of 7th chapter of Ācārānga is concerned, in my opinion, it was mainly related to the Jinakalpa or code of conduct of unclothed monks. When the followers of this strict code of conduct disappeared gradually, no serious efforts were made to restore it and finally it got lost.
Likewise, the twelfth Anga Drstivāda, said to be continuing five parts (i) Pari Karma (ii) Sūtra (iii) Purvagatha (iv) Anuyoga and (v) Culika seems to have dealt mainly with the philosophical doctrines of other schools of thought including the Pārsva tradition. Purvagata, the third part of Drstivāda, exclusively, dealt with the doctrines of Mahāvīra.
All these works were preserved only through oral tradition, because, Jaina monks and nuns were strictly prohibited to write on palm-leaves, those days. That study and preservation of the Jaina literature, written on palm-leaves were prohibited due to the strict observance of non-violence and non-possession. They were of the opinion that Mahāvratas could not be observed fully in the process of writing, studying and preserving the palm-leaves. So they made no efforts to restore them in written form. This was the reason behind the loss of Drstivāda as well as some other Āgamas.
In my opinion, Drstivāda, in particular, became extinct, because of following factors. Firstly, its contents were not fully in accordance with Mahāvīra's tradition and were mostly related with philosophical discussions of other traditions and schools, hence unable to arouse interest in Jaina monks. Secondly, the concepts, accepted by Mahāvīra's tradition, were included in other Āgamic
123 Jainism and its History
