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the living and non-living (jiva and ajiva) is very important in observing the vow of ahimsaa.
The fourth secondary canon, the Prajnaapanaasutra, is the largest upaanga, composed by Arya Shyama (Kalakacharya) in the 2nd century BCE, and contains 2176 sutras and thirty-six chapters in question and answer form. It can be well compared with the Digambar canon, Satkhandaagama (1st century CE); it has kept jiva at its centre and described karma as it affects jiva, while in the Satkhandaagama the description revolves around karma. The third and fourth secondary sacred texts are complimentary to one another, as both describe different aspects of jiva and ajiva. It describes Jain philosophy and some of the other subjects found in the Bhagavati Sutra, and by some commentators is described as the encyclopaedia of Jain philosophy.
The fifth and the seventh secondary canon, the Suryaprajnapati and the Candrapragnapti, describe the thoughts of Jain thinkers on the ancient knowledge of astronomy, and solar and lunar motion. The sixth secondary canon, the Jambudvipapragnapti, describes geography and astronomy, and contains a great deal of material on the Jain view of time cycles, and discusses the beginnings of civilisation in the days of Risabhdeva, the first tirthankara. Some work done in Patiala (Punjab) on astronomy suggests that the mathematical calculations given in these texts compare favourably with the modern science (Jain N.1996: pp.89-97).
The eighth to twelfth secondary canons are respectively: Nirayaavalikaa, Kalpaavatamsikaa, Puspikaa, Puspaculikaa, and Vrisnidasaa. They contain narratives of those engaged in good or bad actions and their consequences. Some stories are of historical importance and describe the social life prevalent in those times. In the last text, the term vrisni indicates that it contains legends of the vrisni clan, whose members included Neminatha, Krisna and Balarama.
Texts of Discipline (chedasutra) Cheda is a Jain technical term used to refer to a reduction in the status of an ascetic, hence the chedasutras deal with the disciplinary concerns of ascetic life, including penalties and expiation for breaches of the ascetic code. This group of sutras originally had seven texts, but one, the sixth, has been lost.
The first of the extant texts is called Dasaasrutaskandha or Acaaradasaa, which contains ten chapters and 278 sutras. The first three chapters discuss in detail various forms of monastic transgressions by accident, by negligence and by will, and the penance according to the degree and quality of transgression. The fourth chapter notes the required qualities of a monastic leader, his duties and other matters concerning monastic life. The fifth chapter lists the ten occasions such as spiritual progress, devadarsan (viewing of the tirthankara), attainment of avadhijnan (clairvoyance), etc., when an ascetic acquires bliss and peace of mind. The sixth chapter describes the eleven ideal stages of spiritual progress for the layperson. The seventh chapter lists the qualifications and rules for an ascetic for solitary wandering (ekalvihaari). The eighth chapter (Paryusana-kalpa or Saamaacaari) deals with rules for monastic life during India's rainy season. This chapter has been 'hived off as a separate text, the Kalpa Sutra, and is published as a book in its own right, laying down strictures for ascetics and containing appendices giving biographies of the tirthankaras (Jinacarita) and the line of succession (sthaviraavali) down from the chief disciples (ganadharas). The ninth chapter discusses
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