Sacred Literature of the Jains

Summary

The article on **Sacred Literature of the Jains** continues an examination of the Jain canon, focusing on Angas six through nine. It describes the sixth anga, *Nāyā‑dhamma‑kahao*, which is divided into two parts: **nāyānī**, containing edifying tales about human and animal behaviour, and **dhammakaṛhā**, containing moral legends and stories of ascetics. The first part lists nineteen short ajjhayanas (chapters) such as **Ukkhitangae**, **Sankhadda**, **Ārda**, **Kumma**, **Mūgapakkha**, **Suyagaḍa**, **Sirimaga**, **Mudamāṇava** and others, many of which survive only as titles or brief catch‑phrases. The second part is extremely fragmentary; several ajjhayanas are just names and a few verses, and commentary by Abhayadeva attempts to clarify their content. The article explains that the prefaces found at the start of six Angas (4‑9) are later compositions by a single hand, suggesting that these texts were redacted together. Moving to the seventh anga, *Uvasagadasā* (*Upāsaka‑daśā*), the author summarises ten stories about pious householders whose devotion to monks is exemplary; the unity of the seventh through ninth angas is emphasised because they all begin with the same verse and share similar structure. The eighth anga, *Antakṛda‑dasāo*, contains ninety‑three legends about men and women who end their worldly lives through austerities, while the ninth anga, *Anuttarao‑pavvāyia‑dasā*, tells stories of ascetics who ascend directly to the highest heavenly world. Both are highly abridged, often listing only names and places. The article concludes by noting that these fragmentary Angas reflect the oral transmission of early Jain literature and that their narrative material provides valuable insight into the moral ideals and social settings of the time. The omission of detail underscores the importance of commentarial traditions to preserve meaning.