classify agams in various possible ways ?
Here is a simple, practical way to classify Agams (Jain scriptures) in different schemes. Note that exact lists can vary between Digambara and Śvetāmbara traditions.
1) By tradition (who accepts them as Agama)
- Śvetāmbara tradition: Generally maintains a larger corpus of Agama literature, including many works grouped into Anga, Upanga, etc., with detailed biographies, cosmology, and ethics.
- Digambara tradition: Some texts are treated as Agama, while others are considered partly or wholly later commentaries or lost/remeasured; overall, they have a distinct set of canonical works and a different organization.
2) By core content or topic
- Ethical conduct and discipline (Śrāvakācāra, laynchrony of conduct, vows, penance, karmic theory)
- Monastic rules and disciplines (various Śrāvaka/śramaṇa rules, vihāra, ascetic practices)
- Cosmology and astronomy (models of loka, hells, heavens, time cycles)
- Philosophicaldoctrines (nyāya/valid cognition, standpoints on karma, guṇas, ajñāna, anantan̄kā)
- biographies and hagiography (lives of Tirthankaras and eminent monks)
- Rituals, festivals, and temple practices (puja, bhakti, commemorations)
- Commentaries and exegetical works (explanations of earlier texts)
3) By structure or literary form
- Sutras (discourses attributed to Tirthankaras or their successors)
- Smṛti and bhāṣā (commentaries, glosses, expositions)
- Biographical/Itihāsa texts (life stories, lineage accounts)
- Prakrit/Sanskrit compositions and later Prakrit elaborations
- Doctrinal treatises (systematic presentations of Jain philosophy)
4) By time of composition or compilation
- Early canonical strata (often considered the original teachings in ancient language)
- Middle/late agamic writings (scholarly expansions, commentaries, and organizing works)
- Later sectarian compilations (texts that reflect specific monastic orders or regional traditions)
5) By linguistic medium
- Prakrit-language texts (most classical Agama material)
- Sanskrit-language works (doctrinal and commentarial traditions in Sanskrit in some lineages)
- Other regional Prakrits or vernacular retellings in later periods
6) By authorship claim
- Attributed to Tirthankaras or their close disciples (authoritative discourses)
- Attributed to principal monks or mythic teachers in the Jain sangha (later compilations)
- Anonymous or traditional compendia (collected from various teaching sessions)
7) By canonical status (shared vs contested between traditions)
- Canonical Agama texts (widely accepted in a tradition)
- Semi-canonical or contested texts (admired or used but with debate about their status)
- Later commentaries or compendia (used for study but not treated as primary Agama in some schools)
If you want, I can tailor these classifications to a specific tradition (Śvetāmbara or Digambara) and list representative texts under each category.