Canonical and commentarial literature

Jain canonical scriptures do not belong to a single period, nor is any text free from later revision or additions. The sacred literature, transmitted orally, was first systematized in a council at Patna about the end of the 4th century bce, of which little can be said, and again in two later councils at Mathura (early 3rd century ce) and Valabhi. The fourth and last council, at Valabhi in the mid-5th century, is considered the source of the existing Shvetambara canon, though some commentators insist that the present version comes from the Mathura council.

The original, unadulterated teachings of the Tirthankaras, the Purvas, are said to have been contained in 14 ancient or “prior” (purva) texts, which are now lost. Shvetambaras and Digambaras agree that a time will come when the teachings of the Tirthankaras will be completely lost; Jainism will then disappear from the earth and reappear at an appropriate point in the next time cycle (kalpa). The two sects disagree, however, about the extent to which the corruption and loss of the Tirthankaras’ teachings has already occurred. Consequently, the texts for each sect differ.

The Shvetambaras embrace an extensive agama (Sanskrit: “tradition,” or “received teachings”; i.e., collection of canonical texts) as the repository of their tradition. Based upon what are believed to be discourses by Mahavira that were compiled by his disciples, this canon preserves his teachings in an imperfect way, since it has been subject to both interpolation and loss throughout the ages. The number of texts considered to make up the Shvetambara canon has varied over time and by monastic group. Largely through the influence of the 19th-century Austrian scholar Johann Georg Bühler, however, Western scholars have fixed the number of texts in this canon at 45, divided into six groups: the 11 Angas (“Parts”; originally there were 12, but one, the Drishtivada, has been lost), 12 Upangas (subsidiary texts), 4 Mula-sutras (basic texts), 6 Cheda-sutras (concerned with discipline), 2 Chulika-sutras (appendix texts), and 10 Prakirnakas (mixed, assorted texts). The Angas contain several dialogues, mainly between Mahavira and his disciple Indrabhuti Gautama, presumably recorded by the disciple Sudharman, who transmitted the teachings to his own disciples.

According to modern scholars, the Acharanga (first chapter) and the Sutrakritanga, among the Angas, and sections of the Uttaradhyayana, among the Mula-sutras, represent the oldest parts of the canon. The fifth Anga, the Bhagavati, is an extensive repository of early Jain teachings. The Cheda-sutra text Dashashrutaskandha concludes with the ritually important Kalpa-sutra, which recounts the lives of the Jinas and includes an appendix of rules for monastic life and a list of eminent monks.

Bhadrabahu, traditionally recognized as the last Jain sage to know the contents of the Purvas, is thought to be the author of the Niryuktis, the earliest commentaries on the Jain canonical texts. These concise, metrical commentaries, written in Prakrit, gave rise to an expanded corpus of texts called Bhashyas and Churnis. Composed between the 4th and the 7th century, these texts contain many ancient Jain legends and historical traditions and a large number of popular stories that support Jain doctrine. The Bhashyas and Churnis, in turn, gave rise in the medieval period to a large collection of Sanskrit commentaries. Haribhadra, Shilanka, Abhayadeva, and Malayagiri are the best-known authors of such commentaries.

Digambaras give canonical status to two works in Prakrit: the Karmaprabhrita (“Chapters on Karma”), also called Shatkhandagama (“Scripture of Six Sections”), and the Kashayaprabhrita (“Chapters on the Kashayas”). The Karmaprabhrita, allegedly based on the lost Drishtivada text, deals with the doctrine of karma and was redacted by Pushpadanta and Bhutabalin in the mid-2nd century; the Kashayaprabhrita, compiled by Gunadhara from the same source about the same time, deals with the passions (kashaya) that defile and bind the soul. Later commentaries by Virasena (in the 8th century) and his disciple Jinasena (in the 9th century) on the Kashayaprabhrita are also highly respected by Digambaras.

The religious merit that accrues from hearing and reading Jain texts encouraged the careful and loving preservation of manuscripts. The Jains have traditionally maintained important libraries throughout India, among the most significant of which are those for the Shvetambaras at Chambay (or Khambhat), Patan (both in Gujarat state), and Jaisalmer (Rajasthan) and those for the Digambaras at Karanja (Maharashtra) and Mudbidri (Karnataka). The miniatures on palm-leaf and paper manuscripts and on wooden book covers preserved in the Jain monastic libraries provide a continuous history of the art of painting in western India from the 11th century to the present.

Philosophical and other literature

In addition to their canons and commentaries, the Shvetambara and Digambara traditions have produced a voluminous body of literature, written in several languages, in the areas of philosophy, poetry, drama, grammar, music, mathematics, medicine, astronomy, astrology, and architecture. In Tamil the epics Chilappatikaram and Jivikachintamani, which are written from a Jain perspective, are important works of early postclassical Tamil literature. Jain authors were also an important formative influence on Kannada literature. The Jain lay poet Pampa’s Adipurana (another text dealing with the lives of Rishabha, Bahubali, and Bharata) is the earliest extant piece of mahakavya (“high poetic”) Kannada literature. Jains were similarly influential in the Prakrit languages, Apabhramsha, Old Gujarati, and, later, Sanskrit. A particular forte of Jain writers was narrative, through which they promoted the religion’s ideals. The most remarkable example of this is the huge Sanskrit novel The Story of Upamiti’s Series of Existences by the 10th-century Shvetambara monk Siddharshi.

Of particular importance, both as a systemization of the early Jain worldview and as an authoritative basis of later philosophical commentary, is the Tattvartha-sutra of Umasvati, whose work is claimed by both the Digambara and Umasvamin communities. Composed early in the Common Era, the Tattvartha-sutra was the first Jain philosophical work in Sanskrit to address logic, epistemology, ontology, ethics, cosmography, and cosmogony.

Digambaras also value the Prakrit works of Kundakunda (c. 2nd century, though perhaps later), including the Pravachanasara (on ethics), the Samayasara (on the essence of doctrine), the Niyamasara (on Jain monastic discipline), and the six Prabhritas (“Chapters”; on various religious topics). Kundakunda’s writings are distinguished by their deployment of a two-perspective (naya) model, according to which all outward aspects of Jain practice are subordinated to an inner, spiritual interpretation.

The details of Jain doctrine did not change much throughout history, and no major philosophical disagreements exercised Jain intellectuals. The main concerns of the medieval period were to ensure that scriptural statements were compatible with logic and to controvert the rival claims of the Hindus and the Buddhists.