Sūtrakṛtāṅga (सूत्रकृताङ्ग; also known in Prakrit as Sūyagaḍaṃga सूयगडंग) is the second Angas of the 12 main aṅgās of the Jain Svetambara canon. According to the Svetambara tradition it was written by

Gandhara Gandhara () was an ancient Indo-Aryan people, Indo-Aryan civilization in present-day northwest Pakistan and northeast Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar valley, Peshawar (Pushkalawati) and Swat valleys extending ...

Sudharmasvami in

Ardhamagadhi Ardhamagadhi Prakrit was a Middle Indo-Aryan language and a Dramatic Prakrit thought to have been spoken in modern-day Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and used in some early Buddhist and Jain dramas. It was likely a Central Indo-Aryan language, related ...

Prakrit Prakrit ( ) is a group of vernacular classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 5th century BCE to the 12th century CE. The term Prakrit is usually applied to the middle period of Middle Ind ...

.The text is in two main parts: the first in verse and the second in prose. It is written using techniques including narration and questions and answers, and the chapters start with Sudharmasvami explaining the various doctrines to his chief disciple

Jambuswami Jambuswami (543-449 BCE) was the spiritual successor of Sudharmaswami in Jain religious order reorganised by Mahavira. He remained the head for 39 or 44 years, after which he is believed to have gained '' Kevala Jnana'' (omniscience). He is be ...

and answering his questions. According to Sagarmal Jain, the text dates c. 4th-3rd century BCE, but

Johannes Bronkhorst Johannes Bronkhorst (born 17 July 1946, in Schiedam, d. 14 May 2025) was a Dutch Orientalist and Indologist, specializing in Sanskrit grammar, Buddhist studies and early Buddhism. He was Professor of Sanskrit and Indian studies at the ...

argues that due to the Buddhist material contained within this text, it cannot be earlier than the 2nd century BCE.

Description

This agama describes nonviolence, Jain metaphysics, and the refutation of other religious theories such as Kriyavada, Akriyavada, Ajnanavada, and Vinayavada. Sanskrit commentary has been done by Silanka who lived in the second half of the ninth century A.D. The agama is divided into two parts consisting of 16 lectures and 7 lectures respectively. Following are the diverse topics covered: *Jain doctrine – Causes of bondage, description of hells, destruction of karmas etc. *Conduct of Monks – Injunctions and prohibitions, difficulties faced, avoiding temptation of women etc. *Heretical Doctrines and errors – Materialists, Fatalists and other wrong beliefs

Quotes from Sutrakritanga Sutra

On destiny

Verse 30 declares a prevalent view on destiny: "Some hold that whatever pain and pleasure individuals beget are not the results of their own acts or volition nor due to others, but are due to destiny." In shloka 31 this belief is dispelled: "Those who brag thus are fools declaring themselves as learned, because they do not know that all pleasures or pains (or whatever happens) are not only due to destiny but they are due to destiny and also due to factors other than destiny."

On monks' conduct with women

Occasionally a woman will tempt him monkto a comfortable couch or bed. But he should know these things to be as many traps under various disguises. He should not look at them, nor should he consent to anything inconsiderate, nor walk together with them; thus he will well guard himself. Inviting a monk and winning his confidence, they offer themselves to him. But he should know, and fly from these temptations in their various forms. 4.3-6

Meekly and politely they approach him with their manifold arts to win his heart; and talking sweetly in confidential conversation they make him do hat they like Those who are attached to this sinful ntercoursemust be reckoned among the wicked. Even a monk who practises severe austerities should avoid the company of women. 4.12

Commentaries

* Sūtrakṛtāṅga Niryukti * Sūtrakṛtāṅgacūrṇi by Jinadāsagaṇ''i'' * Ṭīkā by Śīlaṅkācārya * Dīpikā by Harṣakulagaṇi * Dīpikā by Sādhuraṅga * Sūtrakṛtāṅga Vārtika * Sūtrakṛtāṅga Bālāvabodha

English translations

*Jacobi, Hermann (1895). ''The Jaina Sutras, Part II''.

References

Sources

External links

Sutrakritanga text (1895 English translation)
(Wisdom Library)

(sacred-texts.com) {{Jain Agamas Jain texts Agamas