Similarly, according to tradition, a sacred
literature had been passed down orally through the generations, from
Mahavira. But Bhadrabahu was the last person to know it perfectly. On
his death at the beginning of the third century BC, the canon was
reconstructed as far as possible in twelve sections (Angas) which replaced
the fourteen former texts (Purvas). Although accepted by the Svetambaras,
this canon was rejected by the Digambaras, who held that the old one was
hopelessly lost. Eighty-four works are recognized as belonging to the
Svetambara canon, finally fixed in the fifth century AD. Among them are
forty-one Sutras, a number of unclassified works, twelve commentaries and
one great commentary. All were written in the Ardha-Magadhi language.
