Outlines of Jainism

Author(s): S Gopalan
Publisher: Wiley Eastern Private Limited New Delhi

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JAINISM
interpretation of modern scholars cannot be held. Our opinion that Jainism has not gone to the extremes in regard to renunciation gets confirmed when we find, in the eighth and ninth Angas, legends similar to those found in the seventh exhorting people to lead a pious and non-attached worldly life.14
Praśnavyākaraṇāni : This deals first with the five evils to be avoided-injury to life, lying, robbery, unchastity, love and possession and then treats of the five positive virtues.15
Vipākaśrutas : This Arga is full of legends illustrating the effects of good and evil deeds.
Drşțivāda : This is no longer extant. This Anga is believed to have incorporated all the fourteen Purvas, Eminent scholars of Europe are of the opinion that no convincing reasons are adduced by the Jainas themselves for the loss of the twelfth Anga. Weber maintains that the Jainas have wantonly rejected it since they found no accord between the orthodox tradition and the teachings of the Drsțivāda.16 Jacobi's view is that since the Anga incorporated merely the philosophical discussions between Mahāvīra and his rivals, it would have become completely unintelligible or at least lost all interest to the Jainas themselves.17 Leumann feels that the text must have dealt with astrology, sorcery, etc. and, as such, must have been allowed to have become obsolete.18 The general view of the three scholars seems to be that the Jainas themselves disregarded the twelfth Anga but this may not really be the case since the Jainas themselves say that the Pūrvas became lost only gradually.
III Upāngas :
Though the number of Upāngas corresponds to that of the Angas (for they are also considered to be twelve in number), even a cursory glance of the Upāngas lays bare the fact that there is no inner connection between the Angas and the Upāngas.
Aupapădika : This Upānga is historically significant. It describes in detail the meeting between King Ajātasatru and Mahāvīra
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14 See Barnett, Antakrddašāh & Anuttaraupapādikadašāḥ, pp. 15, 16 & 110. 15 1.A., XX, p. 23 16 1.A., XVII, p. 286 17 Jaina Sūtras, pt. I,Intr., p. xlv ff 18 Cited by C.J. Shah, op. cit., p. 231 f. n.