AkharaAkhara or Akhada (Sanskrit: अखाड़ा, shortened to Khara Hindi: खाड़ा) is an Indian word for a place of practice with facilities for boarding, lodging and training, both in the context of Indian martial artists or a sampradaya monastery for religious renunciates in Guru–shishya tradition. For example, in the context of the Dashanami Sampradaya sect, the word denotes both martial arts and religious monastic aspects of the trident wielding martial regiment of the renunciating sadhus.
ShatkhandagamaThe (Sanskrit: "Scripture in Six Parts") is the foremost and oldest Digambara Jain sacred text. According to Digambara tradition, the original teachngs of lord Mahavira were passed on orally from “Ganadhar” the chief disciple of Lord Mahavira 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 the in these cpabilities and so Aacharya Pushpdant and Bhutbali penned down the teachings of Lord Mahavir in Ṣaṭkhaṅḍāgama Therefore the Ṣaṭkhaṅḍāgama is the most revered Digambara text that has been given the status of āgama.
SudharmaswamiSudharmaswami (Sudharmāsvāmī or Sudharman; 607 BC – 507 BC) was the fifth ganadhara of Mahavira. All the current Jain acharyas and monks follow his rule. Sudharmaswami was the spiritual successor of Indrabhuti Gautama in religious order reorganised by Mahavira. He is traditionally dated from 607 to 507 BC. In the Jain tradition he is believed to have obtained omniscience after 12 years in 515 BC. He is believed to have attained nirvana in 507 BC at the age of 100.
SamayasāraSamayasāra (The Nature of the Self) is a famous Jain text composed by Acharya Kundakunda in 439 verses. Its ten chapters discuss the nature of Jīva (pure self/soul), its attachment to Karma and Moksha (liberation). Samayasāra expounds the Jain concepts like Karma, Asrava (influx of karmas), Bandha (Bondage), Samvara (stoppage), Nirjara (shedding) and Moksha (complete annihilation of karmas). Samayasara was written by Acharya Kundakunda in Prakrit. The original Samayasara of Kundakunda consists of 415 verses and was written in Prakrit.
Ahimsa in JainismIn Jainism, ahiṃsā (, alternatively spelled 'ahinsā', Sanskrit: अहिंसा IAST: , Pāli: ) is a fundamental principle forming the cornerstone of its ethics and doctrine. The term ahiṃsā means nonviolence, non-injury, and absence of desire to harm any life forms. Veganism, vegetarianism and other nonviolent practices and rituals of Jains flow from the principle of ahimsa. There are five specific transgressions of Ahimsa principle in Jain scriptures – binding of animals, beating, mutilating limbs, overloading, withholding food and drink.
GanadharaIn Jainism, the term Ganadhara is used to refer the chief disciple of a Tirthankara. In samavasarana, the Tīrthankara sat on a throne without touching it (about two inches above it). Around, the Tīrthankara sits the Ganadharas. According to Digambara tradition, only a disciple of exceptional brilliance and accomplishment (riddhi) is able to fully assimilate, without doubt, delusion, or misapprehension, the anekanta teachings of a Tirthankara. The presence of such a disciple is mandatory in the samavasarana before Tirthankara delivers his sermons.
NiyamasaraNiyamasara is a Jain text authored by Acharya Kundakunda, a Digambara Jain acharya. It is described by its commentators as the Bhagavat Shastra. It expounds the path to liberation. Niyamasara deals with the three ethico-spiritual standpoints of understanding ultimate Reality – the Nishcaya naya, the Vyavahara naya and the Shuddha Naya. Niyamasara effectively removes doubts related to Parayayarthika naya and Dravyarthika nayas and elaborates on Vyavahara caritra.
SthulabhadraSthulabhadra (297-198 BCE) was the prominent Jain Acharya in third or fourth-century BC. He was a disciple of Bhadrabahu and Sambhutavijaya. His father was Sakatala, a minister in Nanda kingdom before the arrival of Chandragupta Maurya. When his brother became the chief minister of the kingdom, Sthulabhadra became a Jain monk. He is mentioned in the 12th-century Jain text by Hemachandra. Sthulabhadra was a son of the Dhana Nanda's minister Sakatala and brother of Shrikaya. He is traditionally dated in 297 to 198 BCE.
Kevala jnanaKevala gyana (केवल ज्ञान) or Keval gyan also known as Kaivalya means omniscience in Jainism and is roughly translated as complete understanding or supreme wisdom. Kevala jnana is believed to be an intrinsic quality of all souls. This quality is masked by karmic particles that surround the soul. Every soul has the potential to obtain omniscience by shedding off these karmic particles. Jain scriptures speak of twelve stages through which the soul achieves this goal. A soul who has attained kevala jnana is called a kevalin (केवलिन्).
Ratnakaranda śrāvakācāraRatnakaranda śrāvakācāra is a Jain text composed by Aacharya Samantbhadra Swamy (second century CE), an acharya of the Digambara sect of Jainism. Aacharya Samantbhadra Swamy was originally from Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. Ratnakaranda śrāvakācāra is the earliest and one of the best-known śrāvakācāra. A śrāvakācāra discusses the conduct of a Śrāvaka or Jain lay practitioner. Hiralal Shastri mentions 29 such texts from 2nd century CE to modern times.
