Jainism - Scriptures

Scriptures

The 14 Purvas was a body of Jain scriptures preached by all Tirthankaras of Jainism. These teachings were memorized and passed on through ages, but became fairly vulnerable and died off within 1,000 years after Lord Mahavira's nirvana(liberation) due to famine.

Agamas are canonical texts of Jainism based on Mahavira’s teachings. These Agamas are composed of 46 texts: Twelve Angās, Twelve Upanga āgamas, Six Chedasūtras, Four Mūlasūtras, Ten Prakīrnaka sūtras and Two Cūlikasūtras.

The digambara sect of Jainism maintains that these Agams were also lost during the same famine. In the absence of authentic scriptures, Digambars use about 25 scriptures written for their religious practice by great Acharyas. These include 2 main texts, 4 Pratham-Anuyog, 3 Charn-anuyoga, 4 Karan-anuyoga and 12 Dravya-anuyoga.

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