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Jaina Agamic Literature
Unfortunately, these texts are no longer extant, only a brief description of their content is available in the later literature. The twelve Angas or limbs are as follows : 1. Ācārārga, 2. Sūtrakstānga, 3. Sthānānga, 4. Samavāyānga, 5. Vyākhyāprajñapti ( Bhagavati), 6. Jñātādharmakathā, 7. Upāsakadaśānga, 8. Antakrddaśänga, 9. Anuttaraupapātika, 10. Praśna-vyākarana, 11. Vipāka and 12. Drstivāda - now extinct.
The supplements and the commentaries of these texts are found in the form of Upāngas, Chedas, Mūlas and Āvaśyakas. The Twelve Upāngas are as follows:
1. Aupapātika, 2. Rājapraśniya, 3. Jivajivābhigama, 4. Prajnapanữ, 5. Suryaprajñāpti, 6, Jambmdvipaprajĩapti, 7. Candraprajñapti, 8. Nirayāvali, 9. Kalpāvataṁsikā, 10. Puspikā, 11. Puspacũlikā and 12. Vrsnidaśā.
The following are the four Chedasūtras :
1. Vyavahāra, 2. Bșhatkalpa, 3. Niśītha and 4. Daśāśrutaskandha.
The following are the four Mūlasūtras :
1. Daśavaikālika, 2. Uttarādhyayana, 3. Nandi and 4. Anuyogadvāra.
There is only one Avaśyaka.
Thus the 11 Angas, 12 Upāngas, 4. Chedas, 4 Mūlas and 1 Āvaśyaka are 32 in number. This classification belongs to the Sthānakavāsi tradition while Svetāmbara Mūrtipūjaka tradition believes in 45 Āgamas including ten and other three works. Some believe that there are more than 13 Prakirņakas and according to them, the Āgamas are 84 in number. Classification of Āgamas
The Agamas cover the knowledge of a vast array of subjects including Philosophy, Ethics, Religion, Logic, Metaphysics, Cosmology and Astrology. Ārya Rakşita classified the Āgamas on the basis of their subject matter into four Anuyogas. They are as follows:
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