Jain scholars have used a careful, tradition-centered approach to establish the authenticity and reliability of scriptures, similar in spirit to how Hadith verification works in Islam. The main ideas and what they looked at:

• Authority of source and transmission network (aptaputra)

- In Jainism the word of the Tirthankaras is considered authoritative, transmitted through a chain of trusted teachers (Ganadharas and Acharakas). This is the basis for treating certain scriptures as authentic, with later generations preserving and systematizing them. You can read more about what Agams are and how they function as canonical texts here and how they are classified here .

• The pramana framework (valid means of knowledge)

- Jain scholars emphasize reliable knowledges coming through the right means (such as the spoken teaching of wise, authorized sources, and verifiable internal coherence). This is tied to their traditional trust in Aptavacana (scriptural testimony) and the lineage that preserves it, which underpins judgments about which texts are authentic Anga, Upanga, etc.

• Loss, preservation, and cross-traditional corroboration

- The tradition distinguishes Anga (main canons) from Anga Bahya (supplementary texts). Over time, the Digambara and Śvetāmbara communities diverged on how much of the original Agama corpus remains, with Angas and related texts preserved in different forms and some being considered lost. See the discussion of Agams and how the different traditions view their authenticity here and here .

• Purvas and their status

- The most ancient, now largely lost layer of Jain scriptures are the Purvas (14 Purvas) that were said to be part of the Drstivada (the 12th Anga). Modern communities differ on how the Purvas influenced later works, and many Purva ideas survive only in later texts and summaries. For a concise overview of Purvas and their status in Jain tradition, see the JainKnowledge explanations here and here .

• Examples of corpora that scholars study and reference

- Anga and Anga Bahya collections, including core texts and commentary-streams used to reconstruct or verify tradition. - Kalpasutra (often treated as a Śvetāmbara compilation attributed to Bhadrabahu) and Kasayapahuda in Digambara traditions are cited as important scriptural anchors, with debates about their origin and place in the canon. For an overview of Kalpasutra’s origin relative to Purva traditions, see the explanation here .

• Practical outcome in practice

- This framework has guided how communities accept or reject texts, how councils (such as those at Mathura/Valabhi in history) helped stabilize and reconstruct canonical material, and how later writers built on (or reinterpreted) earlier authoritative material. For a general view of Agams and their scope in Jain tradition, refer to the “What are agams” page and the classification page linked above.

If you want, I can pull out specific passages or sections from those Jain Knowledge pages that discuss how these methods were applied to particular texts (for example, how Kalpasutra is viewed across Śvetāmbara and Digambara lineages).