Prakrit Jain texts

ancient Jain text written by Bhadrabahu

most important mantra used for chant in Jainism

Samayasāra (The Nature of the Self) is a famous Jain text composed by Kundakunda an early Digambar Jain Monk, (1st BCE–2nd century CE) 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).

Pravacanasāra is a text composed by Jain monk Kundakunda in the second century CE or later. The title means "Essence of the Doctrine" or "Essence of the Scripture", and it largely deals with the correct ascetic and spiritual behavior based on his dualism premise. Kundakunda provides a rationale for nudity among Digambara monks in this text, stating that the duality of self and of others means "neither I belong to others, nor others belong to me, therefore nothing is mine and the ideal way for a monk to live is the way he was born". The text is written in Prakrit language, and it consists of th