Second Jain council
Also called: Vallabhi council · Topic: Buddhism, Jainism and Heterodox Traditions · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The second Jaina council, also called the Vallabhī council, was held at Vallabhī in Gujarat in the fifth century CE. Devarddhi Kṣhamāśhramaṇa presided over it. At this council the Śhvetāmbara scriptures, which until then had been passed on mostly by memory, were finally written down. The texts were in Ardhamāgadhī Prakrit. This gave the Śhvetāmbaras the fixed canon of Āgamas they still use today.
Example
The council put the surviving Aṅgas and other texts into written form. Later, texts such as the Uttarādhyayana Sutta were kept for centuries in libraries attached to Jaina temples. The Digambaras did not accept this canon.
Don't confuse with
- First Jaina council (Pāṭaliputra): it was held in c. the third century BCE under Sthūlabhadra. It compiled the twelve Aṅgas but did not write them down. Vallabhī put the canon in writing.
- Buddhist council at Vesāli: this was a meeting of Buddhist elders after the Buddha's death. It was not a Jaina council.
Related concepts
- Jainism
- Tirthankara
- Rishabhanatha
- Parshvanatha
- Mahavira
- Kevala jnana
- Ahimsa
- Karma
- Five vows of Jainism
- Aparigraha