Sthanangasutra

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The Sthānangasūtra, originally known as the Thaṇamgasutta in Prakrit, is an encyclopedic text that was incorporated into the canon of the Śvetāmbara Jains at a council in Valabhi in the 5th century AD. It is the third of the eleven anga texts. Recent scholarly efforts have included a critical edition by Muni Jambūvijaya (1985), a commentary by Abhayadevasūri (11th century AD) published in Sanskrit (2002-2003), and an English translation by Surendra Bothara (2004), which is described as a "free flowing translation" and a helpful, albeit not literal, introduction to the work. Previous scholarly engagement with the text includes works by Albrecht Weber, Walther Schubring, and Shantaram Bhalchandra Deo, as well as Hindi and Gujarati translations and indices.

The Sthānangasūtra is structured into ten chapters, named sequentially from eka-sthānam (one-place) to daśa-sthānam (ten-places). The critical edition contains 783 sūtras of varying lengths, mostly in prose, written in Ardhamāgadhi. The text's character is defined by its systematic categorization of Jain concepts and worldly phenomena according to numerical groupings, from one to ten.

Key Content Examples by Chapter:

• Chapter I (eka-sthānam): Focuses on singular entities like the soul, universe, creation, destruction, rebirth, knowledge, faith, conduct, sensory perceptions, the four passions (anger, pride, deceit, greed), world periods, various categories of beings, and specific geographical or cosmological elements like atoms and continents. It also mentions single stars in constellations and the presence of one soul in every body.
• Chapter II (dvi-sthānam): Classifies existence into dualities such as sentient/non-sentient, mobile/immobile, liberated/non-liberated. It details two kinds of activity, renunciation of food, types of faith, and physical characteristics like minute or gross earth-bodied beings. It also covers aspects of ascetic practice, matter particles, equanimity, geographical features of Jambudvipa, human height and lifespan, and ways the soul leaves the body.
• Chapter III (tri-sthānam): Explores triadic classifications, including divine sexual acts, types of activity (mental, vocal, physical), ways the soul acquires short-life karma, categories of males and females, types of wombs, eminent persons, celestial vehicle colors, human dispositions, roles in tradition, and forms of speech. It also delves into classifications of faith, stories, time, geographical entities, causes of earthquakes, and inherited bodily parts.
• Chapter IV (catur-sthānam): Presents fourfold divisions, such as types of speech (including a revision from the previous chapter), permitted garments for nuns, the four passions, similes describing maturity and virtue, causes of laughter, types of servants, categories of gossip, exceptions to ascetic transgression during talk, geographical features, types of austerity, brave men, fundamental entities (astikāya), forms of initiation, and the composition of the religious community (sangha).
• Chapter V (pañca-sthānam): Details five great vows (mahāvrata) and five vows for laypeople (anuvrata), reasons for a monk's expulsion from a monastic community (gana), conditions under which an ācārya can cause dispute, specific river crossings allowed for monks and nuns, methods of conception without intercourse, and specific situations where nude monks and dressed nuns might share space. It also lists reasons for an ācārya reciting or explaining sūtras and colors of celestial vehicles.
• Chapter VI (sar-sthānam): Outlines six qualities for a monastic leader, six supernatural powers (rddhi), human height in a specific epoch, six reasons a monk may eat, and various lists of deities, hells, and seasons.
• Chapter VII (sapta-sthānam): Discusses seven kinds of birth, classifications of air-bodied beings, seven prominent clans, seven gems of a Cakravartin, signs of the duhṣama period, seven causes of sudden death, and lists of armies, commanders, and historical schisms within the Jain church.
• Chapter VIII (asta-sthānam): Encompasses eight kinds of touch, various types of signs and omens, eight inflections of words, eight branches of Ayurveda, the number of kings initiated by the first future Tīrthankara, geographical and divine entities, maximum numbers of eminent figures in specific areas, height of celestial vehicles, and karmic durations for male gender and fame.
• Chapter IX (nava-sthānam): Describes nine restraints for celibate monks, nine causes of disease, nine oozing apertures in the human body, eight topics of "evil scriptures" (with the number nine appearing in the description), and nine conditions for pure alms-seeking.
• Chapter X (dasa-sthānam): Lists ten characteristics of Jainism, ten times prohibited for astronomical study, ten rivers, cities, kings, and mountains, ten causes of joy, ten causes of pain for infernal beings, ten kinds of wishes, and the ten developmental stages of a 100-year-old man.

The author posits that the Sthānangasūtra's heterogeneous nature, lacking a discernible logical order within chapters, resembles a notebook. The core organizational principle is the classification of terms and phenomena by number. While this might seem simple, it serves to categorize and place items within a numerical framework. The author argues that the Sthānanga is primarily a memory aid for ācāryas, designed to help them cover the diverse subjects required for teaching their disciples. It was not intended for independent study by junior monks.

Four arguments support this thesis:

1. The frequent occurrence of "bhāniyavva" ("this has to be explained") indicates the need for oral elaboration.
2. The use of abbreviations and "jāva" (etc.) implies that only those with expert knowledge can fill in the missing details.
3. The dialectical technique of "niksepa" is used to explain words, but only the viewpoints are listed, not elaborated.
4. The inclusion of numerous outlines of similes strongly suggests their use in sermons or lessons.

The author emphasizes the indispensability of Abhayadeva's Sanskrit commentary for understanding the text, as it provides Prakrit equivalents and crucial explanations for generalized statements. Abhayadeva himself noted the lack of prior commentaries and the challenges in compiling his work.

A key point of contention between the author and traditional interpretations (like Abhayadeva's) concerns the naya-theory. While Abhayadeva interprets terms like "eka ātmā" (one soul) through the lens of sangraha-naya (general qualities), the author argues this is an overcomplication. He suggests "eka" should be understood as "in place one" (ekasmin sthāne), reflecting the chapter's title and the text's primary function as a structured memory aid, with the cardinal number serving formal uniformity and memorization.

Regarding authorship, while tradition attributes the text to Sudharman reciting Mahāvīra's words, the author argues it's a compilation of older texts, not directly from Sudharman's time. This is supported by evidence of borrowed passages from other canonical texts and the fact that all topics discussed in the Sthānanga are covered extensively elsewhere in the canon. The author notes that ancient rules, found in texts like the Vyavahāra, stipulated that ascetics needed eight years of monastic experience and mastery of the Sthānanga to become an ācārya.

Finally, the author reflects on the current state of Jain monastic education, noting that contemporary curricula often omit canonical texts, suggesting that such texts are no longer the primary source for learning tradition. While the Sthānanga might not be practically important for ascetics today, the author concludes that it remains a valuable resource for anyone interested in the history of Jainism, Indian intellectual history, or the history of religion and literature.