Canonical Literature Of Jainas

This is a comprehensive summary of the "Canonical Literature of the Jainas" by H. R. Kapadia, based on the provided text.

Book Title: Canonical Literature of the Jainas Author: Hiralal Rasikdas Kapadia Publisher: Hindi Granth Karyalay Publication Year: 1941

Overall Purpose: The book aims to provide a detailed history and analysis of the canonical literature of the Jainas. Kapadia identifies a gap in existing scholarship, noting that while works like Prof. Weber's "A Sacred Literature of the Jainas" and Prof. Winternitz's "A History of Indian Literature" touch upon Jainism, they do not offer a comprehensive, connected history of the Jaina canonical literature, particularly neglecting extinct Agamas and treating exegetical literature cursorily. Kapadia's work intends to fill this void.

Key Themes and Content:

The book is structured into several chapters, each delving into specific aspects of the Jaina canonical literature:

Chapter I: Genesis of the Jaina Scriptures

• Authority and Divine Origin: Discusses the Jain belief that scriptures are often attributed to perfected human beings (Tirthankaras) or divine sources.
• Cyclical Nature of Time and Scriptures: Explains the Jaina concept of time cycles (avasarpini and utsarpini) and how scriptures are believed to have been lost and revived multiple times.
• The Role of Ganadharas: Details how the eleven Ganadharas of Lord Mahavira composed the dvādaśāngis (collections of 12 Angas), forming the nucleus of Jaina scriptures.
• Indrabhuti and the Tripadi: Explains the encounter between Indrabhuti and Lord Mahavira, leading to the concept of tripadi (birth, decay, permanence) and the subsequent composition of dvādaśāngis.
• The 12 Angas: Lists and discusses the 12 principal Angas, noting differences of opinion regarding their order of composition and the internal structure of Ditthivāya (the 12th Anga), particularly its five sections (Parikamma, Sutta, Puvvagaya, Anuoga, Cūliyā).
• Anuyoga: Explains the concept of the four anuyogas (Dharmakathānuyoga, Gaṇitānuyoga, Dravyanuyoga, Caraṇakaraṇānuyoga) and their pervasiveness in Jaina scriptures.
• Definition of "Jaina Scriptures": Kapadia clarifies his definition as authoritative works composed by eminent Jaina saints, distinguishing it from a broader definition of any sacred book.
• Authorship and Early Works: Identifies key figures like Bhadrabahusvāmin and lists important early works such as the Nijjuttis and Chedasutras, highlighting the contributions of Daśapūrvadharas and Pratyekabuddhas.

Chapter II: Classifications of the Āgamas

• Five Types of Knowledge (Jñana): Focuses on Srutajñana (scriptural knowledge) and its classification into Angapavittha (included in the Angas) and Anangapavittha (outside the Angas, also called Angabāhira).
• Divisions of Angapavittha: Explains the 12 Angas as limbs of a śruta-puruṣa (personified scripture).
• Divisions of Anangapavittha: Discusses various classifications, including Avassaya and Avassaya-vairitta (Kaliya and Ukkaliya).
• Kaliya and Ukkāliya: Defines these terms based on the time of recitation (Kaliya studied during specific pauruṣīs, Ukkāliya studied at other times).
• Six Groups of Scriptures: Introduces another major classification: Anga, Uvanga, Cheyasutta, Mūlasutta, Painṇaga, and Cūliyāsutta.
• Anga: Discusses the commonality of the term "Anga" with Vedic and Buddhist literature, noting its meaning in Brahmanical context (auxiliary sciences) and Buddhist context (types of texts).
• Uvanga: Lists the 12 Uvanga, discusses controversies about their number and association with Angas, and mentions the earliest sources mentioning them.
• Cheyasutta: Explores the meaning and origin of Cheyasutta, conjectures about its derivation from types of penance, and identifies the six main Chedasutras (Nisiha, Mahanisiha, Vavahara, Dasasuyakkhandha, Kappa, Pancakappa/Jiyakappa).
• Mūlasutta: Discusses the term Mūlasutta, its possible meanings ("root-Sutras," "fundamental texts," "texts for beginners"), and lists the commonly designated Mūlasuttas (Uttarajjhayana, Dasaveyaliya, Avassaya, Pindanijjutti, Ohanijjutti).
• Painnaga: Explains Painnaga as a "miscellany" or "scattered pieces," discusses its various names (Paiņṇaga, Paiṇṇajjhayana, Painna), its number (variable and debated), and lists works attributed to this category.
• Cūliyāsutta: Mentions that this designation applies to only two works (Nandi and Anuogaddara).
• Classification by Anuyoga: Discusses how scriptures are grouped according to their primary anuyoga association (Caraṇakaraṇānuyoga, Dharmakathānuyoga, Gaṇitānuyoga, Dravyanuyoga).
• Classification by Number of Titles: Notes that several Āgamas have multiple titles.
• Classification by Common Ending: Lists 16 groups based on common word endings in Āgama titles.
• Digambara Classification: Contrasts the Svetambara classification with the Digambara view, which considers most canonical texts lost and relies on a secondary canon (four Vedas).

Chapter III: Redaction of the Jaina Canon

• Oral Tradition: Highlights the ancient Indian practice of oral transmission of knowledge and its continuation in Jainism.
• Art of Writing: Mentions the Jaina tradition attributing the art of writing to Lord Rishabha teaching it to his daughter Brahmi.
• Hesitation to Write Scriptures: Discusses the reasons for the initial reluctance to write down sacred texts, attributing it to aprigraha (non-possession) and fear of misuse, contrasting with the Vaidika reasons.
• Modification of Rules: Notes how rules regarding writing were eventually modified due to the deterioration of memory.
• The Councils of Mathura and Valabhi: Describes the famines and the subsequent efforts to compile and codify the Jaina canon.
• Devarddhi Gani Kshamashramana: Details the crucial role of Devarddhi Gani in presiding over the council at Valabhi, leading to the "Redaction of the Jaina Canon" (pustakarohana).
• Key Features of the Redaction: Enumerates nine important features of this momentous event, including codification, reconciliation of variants, use of vanna and jāva, incorporation of later events (even with anachronism), and Devarddhi Gani's virtual role as author.
• Digambara Allegations: Addresses and refutes Digambara claims about the loss of the canon and the spurious nature of Svetambara texts.

Chapter IV: The Extinct Āgamas of the Jainas

• Loss of Scriptures: Discusses the gradual disappearance of various Jaina scriptures over time due to various factors.
• Ditthivāya: Details its unique position, its early loss during the famine in Bhadrabahusvāmin's time, the role of Sthulabhadra, and the eventual extinction of all Purvas by Vir Samvat 1000.
• Reasons for Loss: Explores reasons assigned by modern scholars like Prof. Jacobi and Prof. Schubring for the loss of Ditthivāya and Purvas, including doctrinal divergence and the undesirability of preserving debates on old heretical views.
• Loss of Other Angas: Discusses the loss of portions or entire Angas like Āyāra, Nāyādhammakahā, Antagadadasā, and Anuttarovavāiyadasā, noting discrepancies in their extant forms and traditional descriptions.
• Loss of Uvangas, Cheyasuttas, Mūlasuttas, Painṇagas, Cūliyās: Details the gradual loss of works within these categories, providing specific examples and estimated dates of extinction where possible.
• Extinct Works: Lists numerous extinct works, including Nijjuttis, Bhāsas, Cunnīs, Dasās, and various Painṇagas, highlighting the difficulty in tracing their contents and origins.
• Importance of Ditthivāya: Emphasizes its unique status as the first work composed by Ganadharas, its comprehensive scope, and its significance as the first major scripture to be lost.

Chapter V: The Extant Āgamas of the Jainas

• Present State of Agamas: Acknowledges that extant Āgamas are not identical prototypes but have undergone changes, particularly linguistic ones and those during redaction.
• Āyāra: Discusses its two suyakkhandhas, the former being older and considered more archaic. Details the ajjhayanas and cūlas, the philosophical debates surrounding Āyāra's composition and genuineness, and its ethical teachings on ahimsā.
• Sūyagada: Examines its structure (2 suyakkhandhas, 23 ajjhayanas), its language, its polemical nature against heretical doctrines, and its parallels with Buddhist literature.
• Thāna: Describes its prose structure, its focus on numerical classifications of phenomena, and its discussion of logic, ethics, and various categories of existence.
• Samavāya: Details its structure (160 suttas), its numerical enumeration of entities, and its coverage of cosmology, geography, and biographies of significant figures.
• Viahapannatti: Highlights its encyclopedic nature, its vast number of uddēśakas and praśnas, its discussions on various philosophical and scientific topics, and its social portrayals.
• Nāyādhammakahā: Discusses its narrative focus, its ethical and religious purpose, its inclusion of popular tales, and its insights into the society of its time.
• Uvāsagadasā: Explains its focus on the lives of lay devotees (śrāvakas), their adherence to vows despite hardships, and its portrayal of social life and religious conversion.
• Antagadadaśā: Discusses its theme of lives of antakṛtkesvalins (those who attained omniscience at the end of their lives), its narrative structure with incomplete stories and references to other Angas, and the differing counts of its sections.
• Anuttarovavāiyadaśā: Explains its focus on the lives of beings reborn in Anuttaravimāna and their eventual liberation, and the incompleteness of some narratives.
• Paṇhāvāgaraṇa: Discusses its content related to āsrava and saṁvara, its mention of non-Jaina tribes and astronomical concepts, and the scholarly debate about its genuineness and relation to Sūriyapannatti.
• Vivāgasuya: Describes its focus on the vivāga (fructification) of deeds, its narratives detailing previous and current lives, and its reflection of social customs and medical knowledge of the era.
• Ovavāiya: Highlights its detailed descriptions of the city of Campā, its historical significance for understanding Lord Mahavira's life, and its codification at the Valabhi council.
• Rāyapaseniya: Focuses on the dialogue between King Paesi and Kesi Ganadhara, its literary value, and its references to social and religious practices.
• Jivājivābhigama: Explains its division into pratipattis, its discussion of fundamental Jaina principles (animate and inanimate), and its question-and-answer format.
• Paņņavaņā: Characterizes it as an encyclopedia of Jainism, detailing its 36 payas and its coverage of ontology, cosmology, and mathematical concepts.
• Sūriyapaņņatti: Describes it as a Jaina work on astronomy, its divisions into pāhuda, and its importance for understanding ancient Indian astronomy.
• Jambūdvīpapannatti: Explains it as a work on Jaina cosmology, its structure, and its legendary accounts of King Bharata.
• Candapaņņatti: Notes its similarity to Sūriyapaņņatti and its likely existence in older forms.
• Nirayāvalisuyakkhandha: Describes it as a collection of five Uvanga, detailing their individual contents related to the lives of gods and princes.
• Nisīha: Identifies it as a Cheyasutta dealing with monastic rules, prohibitions, and penances for transgressions.
• Mahānisīha: Describes it as a Cheyasutta with six sections, discussing various monastic rules, penances, and commonalities with Nisīha.
• Vavahāra: Explains it as a Cheyasutta on prescriptions and interdictions for Jain monks and nuns, including its curriculum for novices.
• Dasāsuyakkhandha: Details its ten significant sections (dasās and ajjhayanas), their topics ranging from monastic discipline to karmic consequences.
• Pajjosaņākappa: Discusses its tripartite division (Jinacariya, Theravali, Sāmāyārī), its detailed narrative of Lord Mahavira's life, and its ethical teachings.
• Kappa: Identifies it as a popular Cheyasutta (Brhatkalpasūtra) dealing with monastic regulations and penances.
• Jiyakappa: Describes it as a later Cheyasutta attributed to Jinabhadra Gani, focusing on penances for rule violations.
• Uttarajjhayana: Highlights its multiple authorship, its 36 ajjhayanas, its archaic language, its ethical teachings, and its collection of old legends and dialogues.
• Dasaveyāliya: Discusses its nature as a Mūlasutta, its title's derivation, its structure, its ethical focus on dharma and ahimsā, and its possible compilational nature with parallels to other Āgamas.
• Āvassaya: Explains its six sections (Sāmāïya, Caüvvīsatthava, Vandanaya, Padikkamaņa, Kāüssagga, Paccakkhāna), its importance as a foundational text, and its extensive exegetical literature.
• Ohanijjutti & Pindaniijjutti: Describes these Mūlasuttas as works on ascetic conduct and rules for procuring alms, attributed to Bhadrabahusvāmin.
• Nandi: Highlights its focus on the exposition and classification of knowledge, its inclusion of a Theravali, and its enumeration of saints.
• Anuogaddāra: Describes it as a stepping-stone to Avassaya, covering both sacred and secular topics, including nayavāda, grammar, and referencing non-Jaina works.

Chapter VI: The Canonical Exegetical Literature

• Origin and Nature of Exegesis: Discusses the necessity and evolution of exegetical literature in general and its Jaina specificities.
• Lack of Records for Ganadhara Explanations: Notes the absence of records for the immediate explanations given by Ganadharas.
• Nijjutti: Defines Nijjutti as the earliest form of Jaina explanatory works, attributed to Bhadrabahusvāmin, and lists his ten Nijjuttis.
• Bhāsa & Cunni: Explains these as subsequent types of commentaries, noting the intermingling of verses between Bhāsa and Nijjutti, and Cunni as a transitional stage between Bhāsa and Tīkā.
• Tīkā: Defines Tīkā as Sanskrit commentaries on Āgamas, mentioning Haribhadra Sūri and Śilānka Sūri as key early commentators.
• Super-commentaries: Introduces Tīkās on existing commentaries, highlighting Kotyācārya and Maladhārin Hemacandra.
• Gujarati Commentaries: Discusses the emergence of Gujarati commentaries (Taboa, Bālāvabodha, etc.) from the 13th century onwards.
• Extinct Commentaries: Lists several extinct commentaries on various Āgamas and Mūlasuttas.
• Detailed Analysis of Nijjuttis: Provides an in-depth analysis of extant Nijjuttis like Avassayanijjutti, Dasaveyāliyanijjutti, Uttarajjhayananijjutti, Ayāranijjutti, Suyagadanijjutti, etc., discussing their structure, authorship, dating, and the admixture of verses from Bhāsa.
• Detailed Analysis of Bhāsas & Cunnīs: Examines extant Bhāsas and Cunnīs for various Āgamas, noting their authorship, extent, and interrelationships.
• Authorship and Chronology: Attempts to establish the chronological order and authorship of these exegetical works.

Chapter VII: Comparison and Evaluation

• Jaina Contributions: Emphasizes the vast, varied, and valuable contributions of Jaina literature to Indian literary traditions, noting its delayed recognition.
• Languages: Discusses the significance of Prakrit, particularly Ardha-Magadhi, in Jaina literature, and the presence of Apabhraṁśa works, also highlighting Jaina contributions to Sanskrit literature through commentaries.
• Intonation: Explores the presence of intonation marks (ghosa, udatta, etc.) in Jaina canonical texts, noting the lack of visible manuscripts or recitation practices reflecting this.
• Versified Commentaries: Points out the novelty of having multiple versified commentaries on the same text, a feature seemingly unique to Jaina literature.
• Synonyms and Lexicography: Discusses the use of synonyms (yāttu, nikkheva, nirutta) as a feature of Nijjutti, contributing to lexicography.
• Nikkheva: Explains Nikkheva as a special feature of Jaina literature, likely originating from anekāntavāda, and its role in clarifying metaphysical discussions.
• Nirutta: Defines Nirutta as etymological interpretation, a key component of Nijjuttis, and emphasizes its value for comparative linguistics.
• Grammar: Notes the grammatical information present in the canon, including discussions on numbers, genders, tenses, persons, cases, and nayas, with parallels in Sanskrit grammar.
• Poetics: Highlights the presence of kāvyarasas and poetic descriptions in the canon, showcasing the authors' literary abilities.
• Sutta: Discusses the meaning and usage of the word sutta, its prose nature in most canons, and the challenges in interpreting its often disconnected sentences.
• Gata-pratyāgata-sūtras: Identifies these as a peculiar feature of Āyāra, acting as forceful, pithy sentences.
• Praśnottara Paddhati: Explains the method of inquiry and the presence of entire works dedicated to questions and answers (Viahapannatti, Pannavaņā, Nandi, Anuogaddāra).
• Ethics: Focuses on ahimsā as the cornerstone of Jaina ethics, its subtle science, and its numerous synonyms.
• Maxims: Notes the abundance of ethical maxims and apothegms within the canonical literature.
• Metaphysics and Physics: Mentions that Pannavaņā covers these subjects, and Nandi deals with psychology and logic.
• Mathematics: Highlights Jaina contributions to mathematics, including sankhyāna, geometry (bhangas), āsrava, saṁvara, nimitta, and calculations, noting their early development.
• Alchemy and Medicine: Touches upon the Jaina knowledge of alchemy (preparation of gold) and medicine, including treatments for diseases and remedies.
• Modern Branches of Knowledge: Observes how the canon contains seeds of modern disciplines like metaphysics, physics, psychology, logic, geology, biology, and chemistry.
• Paleography: Discusses the study of Jaina scripts (leha, lipis), mentioning various scripts and the shapes of letters.
• Educational Topics: Reviews aspects of Jaina pedagogy, including types of svādhyāya, the teaching of artha, curriculum, the importance of jñana vs. kriya, and papaśruta.
• Ethnology: Notes the mention of various tribes, their characteristics, and social structures within the canon.
• Foot-wear & Outfit: Mentions rules regarding the attire and possessions of Jaina saints.
• Nautical: References descriptions of ships and maritime terms.
• Water: Discusses classifications of water based on its flow and depth.
• Stick: Mentions measures related to sticks.
• Lullaby: Notes the presence of a lullaby specimen.
• Parallels in Non-Jaina Literature: Draws comparisons between Jaina scriptures and Buddhist texts (Vinayapitaka, Anguttaranikāya, Avadānaśataka, Karmaśataka, Pāyāsisutta) and Vedic literature (Mahābhārata).
• Ascetic Literature: Discusses the concept of śramaņa and brāhmaṇa, the disregard for caste, the focus on popular tales, and the emphasis on ahimsā and compassion.
• Narrative Literature and Folk-lore: Highlights the rich narrative tradition in Jaina literature, its realism, its distinction from Buddhist narratives, and its value as a source for folk-lore and social history.
• Music: Mentions discussions on musical scales (svaras), instruments, and singing.
• Staging of Dramas: Notes descriptions of dramatic performances and poses.
• Erotic: Explains the inclusion of erotic elements as a pedagogical tool for novices.

Author's Contribution: Kapadia expresses his gratitude to scholars whose works he consulted, especially Prof. Winternitz, and acknowledges the assistance of his children in compiling the indexes. He also thanks the University of Bombay for publication support and Jain gentlemen for encouragement. The preface indicates that this work represents over a decade and a half of dedicated effort, acknowledging the challenges encountered.

In essence, Kapadia's "Canonical Literature of the Jainas" serves as a foundational scholarly work, meticulously detailing the structure, evolution, classification, content, and historical context of the Jaina scriptures, while also highlighting their broader contributions to Indian literature and knowledge.