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| Satkhandagama | |
|---|---|
 Ṣaṭkhaṅḍāgama with commentaryDhavalā ofAcharya Virasena | |
| Information | |
| Religion |  Jainism |
| Author | Puṣpadanta and Bhūtabali |
| Language | Prakrit |
| Chapters | 5 |
| Part ofa series on |
| Jainism |
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Ethics Ethics of Jainism
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TheṢaṭkhaṇḍāgama (Prakrit: "Scripture in Six Parts") is the only canonical piece of literature ofDigambara sect ofJainism.[1] According to Digambara tradition, the original teachings of lord Mahavira were passed on orally fromGanadhar, the chief disciple ofMahavira to his disciples and so on as they had the capability of listening and remembering it for always. But as the centuries passed there was downfall in these capabilities and so Ācārya Puṣpadanta and Bhūtabali penned down the teachings of Mahavira inṢaṭkhaṇḍāgama. Therefore theṢaṭkhaṇḍāgama is the most revered Digambara text that has been given the status ofāgama.
The importance of theṢaṭkhaṇḍāgama to the Digambaras can be judged by the fact that, the day itsDhavalā commentary was completed, it is commemorated on theŚrūta Pañcamī, a day when all theJain scriptures are venerated. TheṢaṭkhaṇḍāgama, the firstāgama, is also called the "Prathama Śruta-Skandha", while thePañca Paramāgama byKundakunda are referred to as the secondāgama or Dvitiya Śruta-Skandha.
This work is based oral tradition of Dharasena, aDigambara monk, who knew parts of several canons.[2] According to the tradition, alarmed at the gradual dwindling of scriptural knowledge, he summoned two monks, Puṣpadanta and Bhūtabali to a cave, known asCandra Guphā, or the Moon Cave, his retreat in mountGirnar,Gujarat, and communicated what he remembered out of originally vast extent of sacred Jain writings.[3][4] He taught them portions of the fifth Aṅga Viāhapannaṭṭi (Vyākhyā Prajñapti) and of the twelfth Aṅga Diṭṭhivāda (Dṛṣṭivāda). These were subsequently reduced to writing in Sutra form by his pupils. Puṣpadanta composed the first 177 aphorisms and his colleague Bhūtabali wrote the rest, the total being 6000 aphorisms.[2]
ĀcāryaVīrasena received the ancientṢaṭkhaṇḍāgama andKasāyapāhuḍa texts through the lineage tradition. At Vatagram, he wrote a 72,000 śloka commentary on Ṣaṭkhaṇḍāgama (known as Dhavala and the last section called Mahadhavala) and 20,000 shloka commentary the Kashyaprabhrita (known as Jayadhavala). After he died his disciple AcharyaJinasena completed the Jayadhavala commentary by adding another 20,000 shlokas. Both of the commentaries use both Sanskrit and Prakit.[5] Jayadhavala was finished during the rule of theRashtrakuta rulerAmoghavarsha in 838 AD (or Jagatunga according to some scholars)
A palm leaf manuscript of this long work were preserved in the Digambara holy place ofShravanabelagola at the Siddhanta Basadi. Later they were shifted toMudabidri, a temple town in South-WestKarnataka. The palm leaf manuscript, itself written during the Rāṣṭrakūṭa rule, is still preserved. Some of the leaves contain beautiful paintings of historical importance[6] A copy was reputed to have been at the Malked (Manyakhet) Mutt, but that has not survived.[7] At Mudabidri, these manuscripts were treated with great reverence, but became mere objects of worship, and unavailable to outside scholars. Ordinary householders were not permitted to study them.[8]Digambara āgamas likeṢaṭkhaṇḍāgama and theKasāyapāhuda were in a state of neglect and were not studied or made available to the community.[4]
With the support of Manikchand of Sholapur during 1896 to 1920, the Moodbidrai manuscript were transcribed in modern Nagari and Kannad scripts, without the knowledge of the Moodbidri temple trustees.
In the 20th century, Dr. Hiralal Jain was one of the first few lay scholars who decided to retrieve the āgamas, and bring to light with systematic editing and proof reading. With the help of his scholar friends like PanditNathuram Premi and Jamunaprasada Sub-Judge, he raised the funds to publish the āgamas, and set out to extricate the āgamas from Mudabidri, where the original handwrittenPrakrit manuscripts had lain for centuries, unstudied. Dr Hiralal Jain, PtNathuram Premi and Jamunaprasada sub-judge together managed to convince Seth Sitabray Gulabray, a wealthy land-owner from Vidisha (Bundelkhand,Madhya Pradesh) belonging to theParavāra community, to donate Rs. 30,000 for the cause of editing and publishing the Satkhandāgama along with its Dhavalā commentary, expertly edited and accompanied by an excellent Hindi translation.This donation enabled Dr Hiralal Jain to work together with Dr. A.N. Upadhye, close friend and a scholar of Prakrit. Dr. Hiralal Jain brought together a team of scholars including, Pt. Phulchandra Shastri, Pt. Kailashchandra Shastri, Sh. Sheryansh Kumar Jain Shastri, Pt. Hiralal Shastri and Pt.Balachandra Shastri started the project of revival and study of theDigambara āgama. These scholars had to face stiff opposition from the monks and the traditional srāvakas who were opposed to the very concept of printing religious scriptures as they felt that printing would undermine the purity of the scripture.
In a period of twenty years, the Satkhandāgama, along with its massive Dhavalā and Mahādhavalā commentaries was edited from the original palm leaf manuscripts and published after very careful proof reading in consultation with senior Jaina scholars like Pt.Nathuram Premi and Pt. Devakinandan Nayak.
TheṢaṭkhaṇḍāgama, as the name suggests, is a scripture in six parts.[9]The six parts are:
Ṣaṭkhaṇḍāgama postulateskarma theory, using a number of technical terms defining various concepts and mathematical notions.[10] The first three parts deal with the karma philosophy from the view point of the soul which is the agent of the bondage and the last three section discusses the nature and extent of the karmas.[9]
The commentary on the first five parts is known as theDhaval्ā. The commentary on the sixth part is known as theMahādhavalā.
Dhavalā is divided into 16 sections which is as follows:[11]
Mahādhavalā the commentary on sixth section called Mahabandha has seven books. The otherDigambara āgama, theKasāyapāhuda, also has a voluminous commentary. It is called theJaya Dhavalā. All three commentaries were composed by Ācārya Virasena and Ācārya Jinasena (8th century CE). The text and its commentaries preserved on the palm leaf manuscripts run into some 120,000 verses.[3]
One interesting fact about theṢaṭkhaṇḍāgama is that it is believed that the 5 padaNamokāra Mantra is believed to have been composed by Ācārya Puṣpadanta as themangalacarana (opening verse, often an invocation to god for the successful completion of the text) to theSatkhandāgama. Before this work, only the 2pada Namokāra Mantra has been found in inscriptions. Hence, there is reason to believe that Ācārya Puṣpadanta was the first person to compose the 5pada Namokāra Mantra.[12] TheṢaṭkhaṇḍāgama is a highly complex work, adumbrating theJaina karma siddhānta. Although it is aDigambara work, it is seen as an authoritative work on the Jaina karma theory by all Jains.
The first five parts of the Ṣaṭkhaṇḍāgama along with the Dhavalā commentary and Hindi translation, running into 16 Volumes, was first published fromVidisha itself, by the family of Shrimant Seth Sitabray Gulabray. But is now published by the Jaina Sanskriti Sanrakshak Sangh in Solapur and distributed byHindi Granth Karyalay, Mumbai.The Mahādhavalā commentary and Hindi translation, running into 7 Volumes, is published from New Delhi byBharatiya Jñanapitha.The Kasāyapāhuda along with the JayaDhavalā commentary and Hindi translation, running into 16 Volumes, is published by Jaina Sangha, Mathura and distributed by Hindi Granth Karyalay,Mumbai.
Popular English Translations are :-Satkhandagama : Dhavala (Jivasthana) Satparupana-I (Enunciation of Existence-I)An English Translation of Part 1 of the Dhavala Commentary on the Ṣaṭkhaṇḍāgama of Acarya Puṣpadanta & Bhūtabali Dhavala commentary by Acarya Virasena English tr. by Prof. Nandlal Jain, Ed. by Prof. Ashok Jain,ISBN 8186957472,ISBN 9788186957479
FourteenPurvas (The Prior Knowledge –considered totally lost) | ||||||||||||||||
| Śvetāmbara Canonical Texts |
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| Digambara Texts |
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†Tattvartha Sutra is accepted by both Digambara and Śvetāmbara as their texts, although Śvetāmbaras do not include it under canonical texts. | ||||||||||||||||
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