Dr. Samani Mangal Pragya
As the number of Jain texts increased, question arose about the acceptability of these as Jain āgamas. All of these could not have been accepted as āgama texts.
Hence, a criteria was framed such that any texts is referred to as āgama which is a compilation of the preaching of tīrthankaras, compilation of gaṇadharas, fourteen pūrva proficients, ten pūrva proficients and pratyeka buddha.[1] With the passage of time as the ten pūrva proficients diminished, correspondingly the increase in the number of āgamic texts stopped. As a special case, some of the prakīrṇakas in the śvetambara tradition that are accepted as āgamas, are compiled by those having knowledge of less than ten pūrvas.
Footnotes
- Ogha Niryukti, (quoted from A History of the Canonical Literature of the Jains, p. 14), p.3. arthatastirthankarapraṇītaṃ sūtrataḥ gaṇdharanibaddhaṃ pratyekabuddhopanibaddhaṃ ca
- Mūlacāra, 5/277
suttaṃ gaṇaharakathidaṃ taheva patteyabudhakathidaṃ ca
sudakevaliṇā kathidaṃ abhiṇṇadasapuvva kathidaṃ ca
