Acharanga Bhasyam

Āgamas are the most ancient works in Jaina-literature. We find two versions of Āgamas in Samavāyāṅga - Dvādaśāṅga (Gaṇipiṭaka) and Caturdaśa Pūrva. In the Nandῑ Sūtra we get two divisions of Āgamas - (i) Aṅgapraviṣṭa and (ii) Aṅgabāhya.

All references about the course of studies for the Jaina monks and nuns, which are found in Āgama-literature, are related to the eleven Aṅgas and fourteen Pūrvas. In these references we find numbers of monks and nuns such as Gautama, Padmāvatῑ, Kālῑ, Atimuktaka Kumāra etc. Some of them are known to be the disciples of Ariṣṭanemi and some of them in the order of Mahāvῑra.

The Ācārāṅga has been described in details in Samavāyāṅga and the Nandῑ. According to them, the main studies of the Ācārāṅga are 'Ācāra gocara' i.e. code of conduct, vinaya (humility), vaināyika (fruition of humility), sthāna (different postures), gamana (travelling), cankramaṇa (movements), bhojana-mātra (quantity of food intake), svādhyāya (spiritual studies), bhāṣā samiti (principles of speech), gupti (restraint or of mind, speech and body), sayyā (place of stay), upādhῑ (belongings) etc. The Ācārāṅga recommends purity of all these aspects. Acharya Umāsvati has briefly dealt with the subject matter of the nine chapters of the Ācārāṅga. They are:

1. Ṣaḍjῑvanikāya yatanā - self-restraint in respect of the six kinds of living beings.
2. Abandoning of ego over worldly things.
3. Conquest over trials and tribulations of life.
4. Unshakable perception about righteousness.
5. Detachment towards worldly affairs.
6. The process to decay or destroy the karmas.
7. Service towards elders.
8. Penance and austerities.
9. Renunciation of attachment to sexual objects

Acharya Mahaprajna (Acharya Tulsi, Acharya Mahashraman)