Kalpa Sūtra: Difference between revisions

What links here Related changes Page information Get shortened URL
Created by Monkbot
Last edited March 24, 2026
VisualWikitext
>Monkbot
m Task 18 (cosmetic): eval 4 templates: hyphenate params (2×);
 
m improved citations as per guidelines
 
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|Jain manuscript written by Bhadrabahu}}
{{short description|Jain manuscript written by Bhadrabahu}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Italic title}}
{{For|Hindu text called Kalpa Sutras|Kalpa (Vedanga)#Texts}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2016}}
{{Infobox religious text
{{Infobox religious text
| image = Detail of a leaf with, The Birth of Mahavira, from the Kalpa Sutra, c.1375-1400. gouache on paper. Indian.jpg
| image = Detail of a leaf with the birth of mahavira.jpg
| alt = Kalpa Sutra
| alt = Kalpa Sutra
| caption = Detail of a leaf with, The Birth of [[God Mahavira]] (the 24th [[Jain]] [[Tirthankara]]), from the ''Kalpa Sutra'', c.1375–1400.
| caption = Detail of a leaf with, The Birth of [[God Mahavira]] (the 24th [[Jain]] [[Tirthankara]]), from the ''Kalpa Sutra'', c.1375–1400.
Line 11: Line 12:
}}
}}
{{Jainism}}
{{Jainism}}
The '''''Kalpa Sūtra''''' ({{lang-sa|कल्पसूत्र}}) is a [[Jain text]] containing the biographies of the [[Jain]] [[Tirthankara]]s, notably [[Parshvanatha]] and [[Mahavira]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Jacobi |first=Hermann |editor-first=F. Max |editor-last=Müller |title=Kalpa Sutra, Jain Sutras Part I, Sacred Books of the East |volume=22 |publisher=The Clarendon Press |year=1884 |location=Oxford |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/jai/sbe22/index.htm}}</ref> Traditionally ascribed to [[Bhadrabahu]], which would place it in the 4th century BCE,<ref name=Britannica>{{cite web|url=http://www.answers.com/topic/mahavira |url-status=dead |title=Mahavira |work=Britannica Concise Encyclopedia |year=2006 |via=Answers.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091019131221/http://www.answers.com/topic/mahavira |archive-date=19 October 2009}}</ref> it was probably put in writing 980 or 993 years after the ''Nirvana'' (''[[Moksha (Jainism)|Moksha]]'') of Mahavira.
The '''''Kalpa Sūtra''''' ({{langx|sa|कल्पसूत्र}}) is an important [[Jain text|Jain scripture]] containing the biographies of the [[Tirthankara]]s, notably [[Parshvanatha]] and [[Mahavira]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Jacobi |first=Hermann |editor-first=F. Max |editor-last=Müller |title=Kalpa Sutra, Jain Sutras Part I, Sacred Books of the East |volume=22 |publisher=The Clarendon Press |year=1884 |location=Oxford |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/jai/sbe22/index.htm}}</ref> Ascribed to [[Bhadrabahu|Acharya Bhadrabahu]], which would place it in the 4th century BCE,<ref name=Britannica>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.answers.com/topic/mahavira |url-status=dead |title=Mahavira |encyclopedia=Britannica Concise Encyclopedia |year=2006 |via=Answers.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091019131221/http://www.answers.com/topic/mahavira |archive-date=19 October 2009}}</ref> it states that it was written down 980 or 993 years after the ''Nirvana'' (''[[Moksha (Jainism)|Moksha]]'') of Mahavira or 1230 years after the Nirvana of Tirthankar Parswanath.


==History==
==History==
Within the six sections of the Jain literary corpus belonging to the [[Svetambara]] school, it is classed as one of the Cheda Sūtras. This Sutra contains detailed life histories and, from the mid-15th century, was frequently illustrated with miniature painting. The oldest surviving copies are written on paper in western India in the 14th century.
Within the six sections of the Jain literary corpus belonging to the [[Śvetāmbara]] school, it is classed as one of the Cheda Sūtras. This Sutra contains detailed life histories and, from the mid-15th century, was frequently illustrated with miniature painting.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jacobi |first=Hermann |url=http://archive.org/details/jainasutrasparti029233mbp |title=Jaina Sutras Part I |date=1964 |publisher=Motilal Babarsidass. |others=Osmania University, Digital Library Of India}}</ref> The oldest surviving copies are written on paper in western India in the 14th century.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Budny |first=Mildred O. |date=2018-04-18 |title=Sanskrit and Prakrit Manuscripts - |url=https://manuscriptevidence.org/wpme/sanskrit-and-prakrit-manuscripts/ |access-date=2024-06-16 |language=en-US}}</ref>


The Kalpa Sutra is ascribed to [[Bhadrabahu]], traditionally said to have composed it some 150 years after the ''Nirvāṇa'' (death) of Mahavira.<ref name=Britannica/> It was compiled probably during the reign of [[Dhruvasena]], 980 or 993 years after Mahavira's death.{{sfn|Kailash Chand Jain|1991|p=75}}
The Kalpa Sutra is ascribed to Acharya Bhadrabahu, the sixth spiritual successor of the great shraman ''Chaturvidh'' sangha of Mahavira, who is said to have composed it some 150 years after the ''Nirvāṇa'' of Mahavira.<ref name=Britannica/> It was compiled probably during the reign of [[Dhruvasena]], 980 or 993 years after Mahavira's liberation.{{sfn|Kailash Chand Jain|1991|p=75}}
 
The Kalpa Sutra was one of the first Jain texts to be translated into English.<ref name="Cort 2001 153">{{Cite book |last=Cort |first=John E. |url=http://archive.org/details/jainsinworldreli0000cort |title=Jains in the world : religious values and ideology in India |date=2001 |publisher=Oxford; New York : Oxford University Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-19-513234-2 |pages=153}}</ref>


==Importance==
==Importance==
The book is read and illustrated in an eight-day-long festival of [[Paryushan]] by Jain monks for general people. Only monks can read the scriptures, as in Jainism, this book has very high spiritual values.
The book is read and illustrated in an eight-day-long festival of [[Paryushan]] by Jain monks for general people. Only monks are generally permitted to read this scripture, as in Jainism, this text has very high spiritual values and sanctity.{{Citation needed|date=November 2025}}
 
The sound of the words alone, even without reflection on the meaning, is considered to transform the listener's soul.<ref name="Cort 2001 153"/>


[[File:Kalpasutra Mahavira Nirvana.jpg|thumb|[[Kalpasutra (Jain)|Kalpasutra]] folio on ''Mahavira Nirvana''. Note the crescent-shaped ''Siddhashila'', a place where all siddhas reside after Nirvana.]]
[[File:Kalpasutra Mahavira Nirvana.jpg|thumb|[[Kalpasutra (Jain)|Kalpasutra]] folio on ''Mahavira Nirvana''. Note the crescent-shaped ''Siddhashila'', a place where all siddhas reside after Nirvana.]]
==Contents==
The Kalpa Sutra mentions nine Ganas and 11 [[Ganadhara]]s of [[Mahavira]].{{sfn|Vyas|1995|p=27}} [[Gautama Swami]] is mentioned as prime Ganadhara of Mahavira.{{sfn|Vyas|1995|p=27}} Acharya Bhadrabahu's disciple Godasa is mentioned to have founded Godasa Gana.{{sfn|Vyas|1995|p=27}}
The text includes the biography of Mahavira, of the twenty-four jinas, and of the lineage of mendicants who followed Mahavir.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cort |first=John E. |url=http://archive.org/details/jainsinworldreli0000cort |title=Jains in the world : religious values and ideology in India |date=2001 |publisher=Oxford; New York : Oxford University Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-19-513234-2 |pages=153–154}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
Line 34: Line 44:
* {{citation |last=Dundas |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Dundas |title=The Jains |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X8iAAgAAQBAJ |edition=Second |date=2002 |orig-year=1992 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=0-415-26605-X }}
* {{citation |last=Dundas |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Dundas |title=The Jains |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X8iAAgAAQBAJ |edition=Second |date=2002 |orig-year=1992 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=0-415-26605-X }}
* {{citation |last=Jain |first=Kailash Chand |author-link=Kailash Chand Jain |title=Lord Mahāvīra and His Times |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8-TxcO9dfrcC |date=1991 |publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |isbn=978-81-208-0805-8 |ref={{sfnref|Kailash Chand Jain|1991}} }}
* {{citation |last=Jain |first=Kailash Chand |author-link=Kailash Chand Jain |title=Lord Mahāvīra and His Times |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8-TxcO9dfrcC |date=1991 |publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |isbn=978-81-208-0805-8 |ref={{sfnref|Kailash Chand Jain|1991}} }}
* {{citation |editor-last=Vyas |editor-first=R. T. |author-link=R.T. Vyas |url={{Google books|fETebHcHKogC|plainurl=yes}} |title=Studies in Jaina Art and Iconography and Allied Subjects |publisher=The Director, Oriental Institute, on behalf of the Registrar, M.S. University of Baroda, Vadodara |year=1995 |isbn=81-7017-316-7 }}
*"The Kalpa Sûtra" translated in English by [[Hermann Jacobi]] is published by Motilal Banarsidass Publishers in Delhi in " The [[Sacred Books of the East]]" (Vol 22)  (1989) {{ISBN|81-208-0123-7}}
*"The Kalpa Sûtra" translated in English by [[Hermann Jacobi]] is published by Motilal Banarsidass Publishers in Delhi in " The [[Sacred Books of the East]]" (Vol 22)  (1989) {{ISBN|81-208-0123-7}}


Line 39: Line 50:
{{commons category|Kalpa Sutra}}
{{commons category|Kalpa Sutra}}
; Translations
; Translations
* [http://www.sacred-texts.com/jai/sbe22/index.htm Kalpa Sutra text (1884 English translation)]
* [http://www.sacred-texts.com/jai/sbe22/index.htm Kalpa Sutra text (1884 English translation)] (sacred-texts.com)
* [https://www.wisdomlib.org/jainism/book/kalpa-sutra Kalpa Sutra text (1884 English translation)] (Wisdom Library)
* [https://archive.org/details/kalpasutraandna00bhadgoog The Kalpa sutra, and Nava tatva (1848 English translation)]
* [https://archive.org/details/kalpasutraandna00bhadgoog The Kalpa sutra, and Nava tatva (1848 English translation)]


{{Jain Agamas}}
{{Jain Agamas}}
{{Jainism topics}}
{{Jainism topics}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalpa Sutra}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalpa Sutra}}
[[Category:Atomism]]
[[Category:Atomism]]
[[Category:Jain texts]]
[[Category:Prakrit Jain texts]]
[[Category:Indian biographies]]
[[Category:Indian biographies]]

Latest revision as of 08:52, 24 March 2026


For Hindu text called Kalpa Sutras, see Kalpa (Vedanga) § Texts.

Kalpa Sūtra
Kalpa Sutra
Detail of a leaf with, The Birth of God Mahavira (the 24th Jain Tirthankara), from the Kalpa Sutra, c.1375–1400.
Information
ReligionJainism
AuthorBhadrabahu
Part of a series on
Jainism
Jain prayers
Philosophy
Ethics
Major figures
Major sects
Jain Literature
Other
Festivals
Pilgrimages
Tirth

The Kalpa Sūtra (Script error: The function "langx" does not exist.) is an important Jain scripture containing the biographies of the Tirthankaras, notably Parshvanatha and Mahavira.[1] Ascribed to Acharya Bhadrabahu, which would place it in the 4th century BCE,[2] it states that it was written down 980 or 993 years after the Nirvana (Moksha) of Mahavira or 1230 years after the Nirvana of Tirthankar Parswanath.

History[edit | edit source]

Within the six sections of the Jain literary corpus belonging to the Śvetāmbara school, it is classed as one of the Cheda Sūtras. This Sutra contains detailed life histories and, from the mid-15th century, was frequently illustrated with miniature painting.[3] The oldest surviving copies are written on paper in western India in the 14th century.[4]

The Kalpa Sutra is ascribed to Acharya Bhadrabahu, the sixth spiritual successor of the great shraman Chaturvidh sangha of Mahavira, who is said to have composed it some 150 years after the Nirvāṇa of Mahavira.[2] It was compiled probably during the reign of Dhruvasena, 980 or 993 years after Mahavira's liberation.[5]

The Kalpa Sutra was one of the first Jain texts to be translated into English.[6]

Importance[edit | edit source]

The book is read and illustrated in an eight-day-long festival of Paryushan by Jain monks for general people. Only monks are generally permitted to read this scripture, as in Jainism, this text has very high spiritual values and sanctity.[citation needed]

The sound of the words alone, even without reflection on the meaning, is considered to transform the listener's soul.[6]

Kalpasutra folio on Mahavira Nirvana. Note the crescent-shaped Siddhashila, a place where all siddhas reside after Nirvana.

Contents[edit | edit source]

The Kalpa Sutra mentions nine Ganas and 11 Ganadharas of Mahavira.[7] Gautama Swami is mentioned as prime Ganadhara of Mahavira.[7] Acharya Bhadrabahu's disciple Godasa is mentioned to have founded Godasa Gana.[7]

The text includes the biography of Mahavira, of the twenty-four jinas, and of the lineage of mendicants who followed Mahavir.[8]

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

Citations[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Jacobi, Hermann (1884). Müller, F. Max (ed.). Kalpa Sutra, Jain Sutras Part I, Sacred Books of the East. Vol. 22. Oxford: The Clarendon Press.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Mahavira". Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. 2006. Archived from the original on 19 October 2009 – via Answers.com.
  3. ↑ Jacobi, Hermann (1964). Jaina Sutras Part I. Osmania University, Digital Library Of India. Motilal Babarsidass.
  4. ↑ Budny, Mildred O. (18 April 2018). "Sanskrit and Prakrit Manuscripts -". Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  5. ↑ Kailash Chand Jain 1991, p. 75.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Cort, John E. (2001). Jains in the world : religious values and ideology in India. Internet Archive. Oxford; New York : Oxford University Press. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-19-513234-2.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Vyas 1995, p. 27.
  8. ↑ Cort, John E. (2001). Jains in the world : religious values and ideology in India. Internet Archive. Oxford; New York : Oxford University Press. pp. 153–154. ISBN 978-0-19-513234-2.

Sources[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]

Translations
Retrieved from "https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kalpa_Sūtra&oldid=473295"
Discover more