Article: Aṅgas

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The primary set of Śvetāmbara canonical scriptures is called the Aṅgas, from the Sanskrit for ‘limbs’. These main texts are complemented by the Aṅgabāhyas – ‘not limbs’. According to tradition there are 12 Aṅgas, all written in forms of Ardhamāgadhī Prakrit, although one has been believed lost since the earliest times.

Śvetāmbara Jains maintain that the Aṅgas contain the teachings of the 24th Jina, Mahāvīra. These were initially passed on orally, with their final written form established nearly a thousand years later in the Aṅgas and other texts in the Śvetāmbara canon. The other chief Jain sect, the Digamabaras, counts different texts in its canon, which they call the Siddhānta.

The Aṅgas are written in Ardhamāgadhī Prakrit, with variations depending on the work. Although the 11 works form a single unit, they contain materials composed at different times. All the Aṅgas use various methods to pass on the teachings, mainly sermons, dialogues, parables and stories. Chiefly in prose, the Aṅgas also contain ‘ascetic poetry’, which is verse on subjects connected with Jain mendicants. The texts can be categorised into two groups.

Aṅgas numbered 6, 7, 8, 9 and 11 can be considered to make up the ‘story Aṅgas’ because they chiefly use tales and parables to pass on Jain teachings. The stories usually describe the course of various characters’ lives, demonstrating how fundamental Jain beliefs work. A single soul is followed as it is born in various bodies in different parts of the Jain universe and goes through a course of adventures. The tales show how karma works in the cycle of rebirth and provides inspiration to make spiritual progress towards liberation.

The other six Aṅgas – numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 – also contain story elements but do not fall into such a neat category. They can be termed ‘reference Aṅgas’ because they are mostly compilations of detailed information important to the practice and philosophy of Jainism. Their chief concerns are:

the rules governing the lives of mendicants
the principles of Jain doctrine
key subjects in the Jain faith, such as cosmology and ethics.

This is also the only place to find certain information about the 24th Jina, Mahāvīra.

As with many Jain scriptures, the Aṅgas have long been a focus of scholarly attention. Learned monks have produced commentaries on many of the Aṅgas almost since they were first written down early in the Common Era. Composed in many languages and forms, commentaries appear in several identifiable styles. This body of work has been vital in aiding the transmission of the Aṅgas down the years, creating a vibrant tradition of examining and interpreting the texts for different generations. With mendicants and scholars in the present day continuing this activity, the commentaries comprise a valuable source of information on the history and development of philosophical and religious concepts, language and practices.

Number and titles

According to the Jain tradition, the Aṅgas are 12 in number. The oldest sources refer to them as ‘the basket of the gaṇadharas which has 12 components’. This is also the case in Aṅga Number 4, which describes the contents of each of the texts. However, Number 12, the title of which is supposed to have been Dṛṣṭi-vāda, was lost rather early. Thus the Aṅgas have numbered 11 since before they were first written down in the fifth century. This is therefore the standard number referred to, for instance, when a canonical scripture says that a given character was a model Jain mendicant because he studied the 11 Aṅgas. This number also appears in Digambara sources. In fact, even though the Digambara sect recognises other writings as canonical, it does not totally reject the Aṅgas.

The titles of the Aṅgas can be understood in various ways. This table gives rough equivalents.

Eleven Aṅgas of the Śvetāmbara canon
Number	Prakrit title	Sanskrit title	Translated meanings
1	Āyāraṃga	Ācārāṅga	‘On monastic conduct’
2	Sūyagaḍa	Sūtrakṛtāṅga	‘On heretical systems and views’ Prakrit sūya is an equivalent of the Sanskrit sūci – ‘[wrong] views’
3	Ṭhāṇaṃga	Sthānāṅga	‘On different points [of the teaching]’
4	Samavāyaṃga	Samavāyāṅga	‘On “rising numerical groups”’ (Kapadia 1941: 126)
5	Viyāha-pannatti or Bhagavaī	Vyākhyā-prajñapti or Bhagavatī	‘Exposition of explanations’ or ‘the holy one’
6	Nāyā-dhamma-kahāo	Jñāta-dharmakathānga	‘Parables and religious stories’
7	Uvāsaga-dasāo	Upāsaka-daśāḥ	‘Ten chapters on the Jain lay follower’
8	Antagaḍa-dasāo	Antakṛd-daśāḥ	‘Ten chapters on those who put an end to rebirth in this very life’
9	Aṇuttarovavāiya-dasāo	Anuttaropapātika-daśāḥ	‘Ten chapters on those who were reborn in the uppermost heavens’
10	Paṇha-vāgaraṇa	Praśna-vyākaraṇa	‘Questions and explanations’
11	Vivāga-suya	Vipākaśruta	‘Bad or good results of deeds performed’

The name of each work is generally followed by the generic Sanskrit term sūtra or Prakrit term sutta, thus it is the Āyāraṅga-sutta or Ācārānga-sūtra, for example. In this context, it lacks the technical meaning of sūtra and is an equivalent of the term ‘sacred scripture’, designating long texts. In the case of the holy text of the Tattvārtha-sūtra, however, the word has its usual technical meaning in Sanskrit literature, meaning it is written in concise aphorisms.

Language

The statue of Māhavīra is decorated for Māhavīr Jayantī at the Śvetāmbara temple in Potters Bar, England. Celebrated in March to April, the festival of Māhavīr Jayantī commemorates the birth of the 24th Jina, Māhavīra. The festival is celebrated by all Ja

Māhavīra decorated
Image by Ravin Mehta © Ravin Mehta

The 11 Aṅgas are written in Prakrit. Although they form a set, they are not all written in the same dialect of Prakrit, nor in the same style. Scholars have recognised that some parts are older than others. Among the oldest parts are the first book of Aṅga Number 1 and some parts of Aṅga Number 2. In Aṅga Number 5 researchers have distinguished the nucleus from various additions.

The Prakrit dialect used in the oldest parts is Ardhamāgadhī, which is associated with the region of eastern India where Mahāvīra preached originally. In more recent parts, the language shows salient features of the Jaina Māhārāṣṭrī dialect. This is associated with western India, where followers of the Jinas migrated and the Śvetāmbara Jain canon was finally put into writing in the fifth century CE.

Literary styles

This painting from an Uttarādhyayana-sūtra manuscript shows Śvetāmbara monks listening to a senior mendicant. The teacher is the largest figure, indicating his importance, and he sits on a low dais with a bookstand – sthāpanācārya – in front

Senior monk teaching
Image by Victoria and Albert Museum © V&A Images/Victoria and Albert Museum, London

The 11 texts that make up the class of scriptures known as the Aṅgas displays a variety of literary forms and styles.

Aṅgas Numbers 3 to 11 are written in prose. The style of prose used in the Aṅgas has several characteristics. Often referred to as ‘canonical prose’, the style relies heavily on repetition and stock descriptions. These allow full descriptions of situations and characters to be referred to directly in the texts of other writings in the Śvetāmbara canon. These other writings are mainly the Aṅgas but also their complementary works, the Upāṅgas. The two sets of teachings thus form a larger group of texts that draws on a close knowledge of all the works to make sense of each one. They must be thought of as closely connected texts that cannot be considered separate items.

Poetry is also found in the Aṅgas. Verse is used in the final section of Aṅga Number 4 and also in several parts of Aṅgas Number 1 and 2. The contrast between archaic metrical forms and other metres has helped scholars distinguish between very old and newer passages or sections of these works.

The Aṅgas use a variety of formats to transmit the teachings. The traditional dialogue and question-and-answer formats are the dominant ones. The texts most commonly follow Indian literary traditions that feature a teacher and pupil talking about a philosophical topic. These techniques expose various sides of the subject and allow for argument and counter-argument. They also foreground the oral aspect of the teachings.

Other favourite methods of passing on key points in Jain belief are the parable and story. Particularly useful to illustrate a concept and its workings, these techniques are effective at all levels of understanding.

Canonical prose

This detail of a manuscript painting shows the universal gathering – samavasaraṇa. When a Jina reaches omniscience, he sits in a samavasaraṇa the gods have built for him. The term is also used for the gathering of animals, humans and gods that listen.

An omniscient Jina preaches
Image by British Library © CC0 1.0 (Creative Commons Public Domain)

The prose of the Aṅgas is sometimes called canonical prose, and uses a specific style and phraseology. Repetition and stereotypical descriptions are features of this style.

There are many sentences that use patterns such as ‘he approached X, after having approached X he said, after having said, he…’. Another feature is the use of series of quasi-synonyms instead of a single word as a way to emphasise something.

This canonical prose has numerous set descriptions, called varṇakas, which describe a city, a beautiful lady, a park, an ascetic, a universal gathering and so on. A specific stylistic form associated with these descriptions is the veḍha. These are long descriptive compounds arranged to form metrical units.

Such descriptions are stereotyped and can be used in different texts. This explains why there is a lot of cross-referencing between the different Aṅgas, as well as between the Aṅgas and the complementary texts called the Upāṅgas – the ‘auxiliary limbs’ of the Śvetāmbara canon. Each of these works should not be viewed as a closed and independent unit. All the Aṅgas and Upāṅgas form an intertextual network.

For instance, the first chapter of Aṅga Number 6 devotes a lot of space to the episode where Prince Megha asks permission to renounce worldly life and become a monk. He and his parents have a lengthy dialogue on the subject. In other similar situations the text will say ‘like Megha’ and the reader will know where the detailed passage is found. There are many techniques for shortening descriptions of stock situations or individuals in this way. Another case is that of Skandhaka, whose story is told in Aṅga Number 5. His life as a ‘perfect ascetic’ serves as a reference for depicting the behaviour of any exemplary ascetic.

Ascetic poetry

Though the majority of the Aṅgas is prose, verse is also used. It is often known as ‘ascetic poetry’ mainly because it is on matters to do with mendicants.

Verses can be found in the last section of the fourth Aṅga and in several parts of the first two works.

Aṅga Numbers 1 and 2 in particular are specimens of ascetic poetry. Among the most famous passages are:

the description of Mahāvīra’s wandering as an ascetic among hostile populations, in Ācārānga I. 9
the first hymn of praise to Mahāvīra, found in Sūtrakṛtānga I. 6.

Dialogues and question-and-answer formats

Indrabhūti Gautama in a painting from a 15th-century Śvetāmbara manuscript. The chief disciple of the 24th Jina, Mahāvīra, Gautama is an important Jain figure and features in many scriptures and tales.

Indrabhūti Gautama
Image by British Library © CC0 1.0 (Creative Commons Public Domain)

Traditional Indian formats for philosophical works are dominant in the Aṅgas. Philosophical texts in Indian culture historically use two main methods to present information. Firstly, a master and his follower have a dialogue discussing the subject thoroughly. Secondly, the guru and his pupil follow a question-and-answer format. The pupil may effectively be a surrogate for the reader or audience of the text.

The Aṅgas primarily follow the traditional dialogue and question-and-answer formats. Though the dialogues may be formalised, the consistent use of these modes of presentation plunges the reader directly into intellectual debates. It also underlines the importance of orality in passing on Jain beliefs.

Mahāvīra is the chief teacher in the Aṅgas. His major direct interlocutor is Indrabhūti Gautama, his chief disciple. Gautama features in several works and is prominent, for instance, in Aṅga Number 5.

The setting frame of many of the Aṅgas begins with the elders Jambū and Sudharman in conversation. Usually, Jambū asks Sudharman what Mahāvīra teaches in the given work. After Indrabhūti’s omniscience, Sudharman was the sole leader of the monastic community Mahāvīra founded. He taught his disciple Jambū what he had learnt from Mahāvīra himself. According to tradition Sudharman taught for 12 years after Mahāvīra’s death and in the 13th year reached omniscience.

Jambū’s questioning takes the following standard forms:

what is the name of this Aṅga?
how many chapters does it have?
what are the names of these chapters?

Then Sudharman answers. What he then tells his disciple forms the text itself. Examples of this framing device can be found in Aṅgas Numbers 2, 8, 9, 11.

In the narrative Aṅgas, which are made up of Numbers 6, 7, 8, 9 and 11, the characters are in permanent dialogue with monastic teachers. Hearing mendicants’ teachings is the reason they wish to become monks themselves. When they want to undertake special penances, they request permission from mendicants as well.

Parables and stories

In Indian culture, the lotus flower symbolises spiritual purity and detachment from the material world. It features in many stories, including a famous parable Mahāvīra tells about following the right path to truth.

White lotus
Image by Haha169 © public domain

Parables and stories are also favourite means of passing on the teachings. They contain familiar examples or exciting narratives to make or explain a possibly complex point or sophisticated concept. Stories form the bulk of Aṅgas Numbers 6, 7, 8, 9 and 11, which are discussed in more depth in the article dedicated to story Aṅgas.

In the Ācārānga and Sūtrakṛtānga, the methods of Mahāvīra’s teachings are emphasised. They include the use of parables, comparisons and examples of all kinds.

A well-known example of one of Mahāvīra’s parables is that of the lotus, found in Sūtrakṛtānga II. 1. Four men come from the cardinal directions and try in turn to enter the pool to fetch the beautiful flower, but all get stuck in the mud. A monk comes along. Realising that the men’s method is not the right one, he stays on the shore and shouts: ‘O white lotus, fly up!’ The flower flies up so he can grasp it. This parable is then explained systematically. The four men represent heretics of various creeds.

The 11 Aṅgas

With numerous common elements, such as language and purpose, the 11 Aṅgas form an interwoven set of holy writings. To best understand each text, familiarity with the others is necessary and thus the Aṅgas should ideally be considered as a whole. Even so, these scriptures can be divided into two categories.

The first category can be thought of as the ‘story Aṅgas’, because the literary forms of narratives and parables are characteristic of these works. The second category is looser, linked less by form and style than by intention and scope. These texts can be labelled the ‘reference Aṅgas’.

Story Aṅgas

The types of human lives are shown in this painting from a manuscript. The length of life and many of the experiences of a lifetime are determined by karma, which comes mainly from behaviour in previous lives.

Kinds of human lives
Image by British Library © CC0 1.0 (Creative Commons Public Domain)

Aṅgas number 6, 7, 8, 9 and 11 are the story Aṅgas. These five scriptures underline the importance of narratives as a crucial medium to teach the doctrine in practice. They chiefly comprise life sketches featuring men and women from various backgrounds, though short parables are also a favourite form.

The purpose is to show how an individual’s behaviour determines future births, which are also the result of past lives. Apart from exceptional cases, when someone can remember his or her previous lives, the mediator who knows both about past and future is a Jina, especially Mahāvīra. These five scriptures are examined in detail in a dedicated article called Story Aṅgas.

Other Aṅgas

This detail of a manuscript painting shows a monk offering forgiveness to a junior. Repentance – pratikramaṇa – is the most important of the six 'obligatory actions' – āvaśyaka – mendicants perform each day

Scenes of forgiveness
Image by Wellcome Trust Library © Wellcome Library, London

The remaining Aṅgas – numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 – can be considered together. They also feature narrative techniques but can be thought of as primarily reference sources. They contain detailed discussion of the rules by which mendicants are expected to live and exhaustive listings of Jain doctrine, thought and practice. This is also the only place to find certain information about the 24th Jina, Mahāvīra. The ‘reference Aṅgas’ are explored in depth in the article of the same name.

Commentaries

Like several other Jain scriptures, the Aṅgas have been the starting point of a long and continuous process of explanation and critical interpretation. This takes the form of commentaries written in different forms and various languages.

The commentaries developed in four phases.

Phases of commentaries on the Aṅgas
Commentary name	Form and language	Period	Information
niryukti bhāṣya	verse in Jaina Māhārāṣṭrī Prakrit	first centuries of the Common Era	methodological character listing synonyms of the main terms, analyses of terms according to fixed parameters and so on. They are not available for all Aṅgas.
cūrṇi	prose in Jaina Māhārāṣṭrī Prakrit	6th century	These are not available for all Aṅgas
ṭīkā vṛtti dīpikā	prose in Sanskrit	8th to 9th century onwards	Each Aṅga has at least one, with some Aṅgas having more. There are some authors who have specialised in such commentaries. The most famous is Abhayadeva-sūri, in the 11th century, who wrote commentaries on nine Aṅgas.
ṭabo bālāvabodha	vernacular languages, in particular Old Gujarati	15th century onwards	Among the specialist commentary authors is the 16th-century monastic teacher Pārśvacandra-sūri

The commentaries of the first two phases are mostly scholarly texts. Those of the latter phases focus more on the literal understanding of the texts. The commentaries are instrumental in the handing down of the Aṅgas through the centuries.

Commentaries on the 11 Aṅgas
Aṅga number	Prakrit title	Sanskrit title	Niryukti	Cūrṇi	Sanskrit commentary
1	Āyāraṃga	Ācārāṅga	Yes	Gandhahastin	Śīlānka, 9th century
2	Sūyagaḍa	Sūtrakṛtāṅga	Yes	Yes	Śīlānka, 9th century
3	Ṭhāṇaṃga	Sthānāṅga	No	No	Abhayadeva
4	Samavāyaṃga	Samavāyāṅga	No	No	Abhayadeva
5	Viyāha-pannatti or Bhagavaī	Vyākhyā-prajñapti or Bhagavatī	No	Yes	Abhayadeva
6	Nāyā-dhamma-kahāo	Jñāta-dharmakathānga	No	No	Abhayadeva
7	Uvāsaga-dasāo	Upāsaka-daśāḥ	No	No	Abhayadeva
8	Antagaḍa-dasāo	Antakṛd-daśāḥ	No	No	Abhayadeva
9	Aṇuttarovavāiya-dasāo	Anuttaropapātika-daśāḥ	No	No	Abhayadeva
10	Paṇha-vāgaraṇa	Praśna-vyākaraṇa	No	No	Abhayadeva
11	Vivāga-suya	Vipākaśruta	No	No	Abhayadeva

Reading

Jaina Studies: Their Present State and Future Tasks Ludwig Alsdorf: translated by Bal Patil
edited by Willem Bollée
Hindi Granth Karyalay; Mumbai, Maharashtra, India; 2006