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  • How many putvas do we have today. As per shwetambar. Answer in detail
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    Jain Follower

    How many putvas do we have today. As per shwetambar. Answer in detail

    3 months ago 51

    If by “putvas” you mean Purvas (પૂર્વો / Pūrvas) in Śwetāmbara Jain tradition, then:

    Short answer

    Today, no complete Purvas are available. In the Śwetāmbara tradition, the 14 Purvas were originally known, but they are no longer extant in full.

    Detailed answer

    1) What are the Purvas?

    The Purvas were a very ancient and highly profound part of Jain scripture. They were considered to be the earliest and deepest scriptural knowledge, especially related to:
    • subtle doctrine,
    • cosmology,
    • karmic theory,
    • ethics,
    • spiritual discipline,
    • and advanced philosophical exposition.

    2) How many Purvas were there originally?

    There were 14 Purvas.

    3) Are they available today in Śwetāmbara tradition?

    No, not in complete form. According to the Śwetāmbara tradition, the original complete knowledge of the 14 Purvas has been lost over time.

    4) What is available today?

    Today, what remains are:
    • references to the Purvas in later Jain literature,
    • mentions in the Aṅgas and commentarial works,
    • and some doctrinal traces reflected in later texts.

    But the full original Purvas are not preserved as complete scriptures.

    5) Important traditional context

    In Jain history, scriptural knowledge gradually declined after the time of the Tīrthaṅkaras. Because of this, the complete ancient scriptural corpus, including the Purvas, was not fully retained in later ages.

    6) Śwetāmbara viewpoint

    From the Śwetāmbara perspective:
    • the 14 Purvas existed,
    • but they are not fully available today,
    • and only partial knowledge or references survive.

    Final conclusion

    So the answer is:
    • Originally: 14 Purvas
    • Today in Śwetāmbara tradition: 0 complete Purvas are available

    If you want, I can also explain:

    • what the 14 Purvas were called, or
    • how they are described in Jain scripture tradition.

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