Jain Literature

In “Jain Literature” professor Sagarmal Jain surveys the breadth of Jain literary output and emphasises that, although Jainism is a minority religion covering less than one per cent of the world’s population, its literary contribution rivals that of larger traditions. He notes that more than twenty thousand Jain works and over one million manuscripts are known. Jain literature encompasses not only religious and philosophical texts but also a wide range of secular subjects; Jain scholars have written on metaphysics, ethics, epistemology, logic, cosmology, biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, geology, geography, history, astronomy, astrology, arts, grammar, linguistics and medicine. While the earliest Jain works were composed in Prakrit, later authors wrote in Sanskrit, Apabhraṃśa, Kannada, Maru‑Gurjar, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi and English; this multilingual tradition began in the 5th century BCE and continues today. Sagarmal Jain divides Jain literature into five categories: (1) canonical literature and its commentaries; (2) works on metaphysics, karma, cosmology, epistemology and logic; (3) works on ethics, code of conduct, yoga and rituals; (4) narrative and devotional literature; and (5) secular subjects. He summarises the composition and transmission of the canonical scriptures: according to Śvetāmbara tradition, 78 canonical works were recognised, of which 51 survive today, whereas most have been lost in the Digambara tradition. The canon was finalised through a series of councils—in Pāṭaliputra about 150 years after Mahāvīra’s nirvāṇa, at Kumāri, and jointly at Mathura and Vallabhi—with the fifth council at Vallabhi (c. 466 CE) producing the written canon. Commentaries on the canon began to appear in the 3rd century CE: Niryuktis in Prakrit verse were followed by Bhāṣyas and Cūrṇis (5th–7th century) and later by Tīkās, Vṛttis and Vivaraṇas in Sanskrit. Sagarmal Jain emphasises the importance of these commentaries and lists major commentators such as Haribhadra, Śīlāṅka, Abhayadeva, and in the Digambara tradition Virasena and Jinasena. He also highlights philosophical works like Umāsvāti’s Tattvārthasūtra and its commentaries by Siddhasena Gaṇi, Haribhadra, Pujyapada, Akalaṅka and others. The article suggests that the richness of Jain literature lies in its adaptability across languages and genres and its engagement with both spiritual and worldly knowledge; this diversity has allowed Jain culture to sustain itself and interact with broader intellectual currents over more than two millennia.

Summary reviewed by a volunteer editor.