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Because of its growth and spread in the region of cows (Gopāncal), it became known as Gopya Sangha. In the commentary (Tika) of Şatdarśana-Samuccaya Ācārya Gunaratna says that the terms Gopya-sangha and Yāpaniya-Sangha are synonyms. The special features of Yāpaniya-Sangha were (1) like the Svetambara tradition it recognized the Ardhamagadhi Agamic literature like Sūtrakrtānga, Ācārānga, Uttarādhyayana, Daśavaikālika etc., which they got as inheritance (2) it accepted the liberation of Sacelakas (those with clothes), liberation of women, and even those who belonged to other faiths.
It believed that the mention of clothes bowls in the Agama literature was only in the context of Sadhvis (nuns), and monks only in exceptional circumstances. On other hand, however, it laid emphasis on naked and disallowed clothes and bowls. Yāpaniya monks used to live naked and used to take meal only with hands (i.e. did not use begging bowl). Their Ācāryas wrote many texts in Sauraseni Prakrit by taking stanzas from Āgamas, which they got in History of Nirgrantha tradition inheritance of which the famous ones are Kasāyaprābhrta, Sątkhandāgama, Bhagavati Ārādhanā and Mulācāra.
The history of Acela Nirgrantha tradition in South India till 3rd – 4th century AD is shrouded in obscurity. In this context, we have neither literary nor epigraphical evidence. Though, we do get some written documents in Brahmi script of a slightly earlier period in Tamil Nadu, they do not give us any information except about the names of monks or of the makers of the caves. The caves with their records in Tamil Nadu probably were the places where Nirgranthas attained Samadhi.
The Tamil literature of Sangama period, however, reveals that Jaina śramaṇas have contributed a lot to the growth and
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