Age of the Nandas and Mauryas c12.s7.8

c12.s7.8

But the same thing cannot be said about the Jaina canon. The first systematic collection of the canon was made only in the 6th century A.D. apparently from old manuscripts but also from the mouths of the monks who could still recite them from memory. But the form in which the Aṅgas have come down to us is admittedly later than that of the Pāli canon which itself is post-Aśokan. Then again an important section of the Jaina community, the Digambaras, disown this canon and dispute its authenticity as true utterances of Mahāvīra. Under these circumstances, although the assumption that it contains some very old traditions of the Jaina church may not be wholly unjustified, our scope of discrimination in using them is extremely limited.