A History of the Canonical Literature of the Jainas c8.360

c8.360

In the end, before I conclude this chapter, I may tentatively suggest why these are lost. As already noted, certain ajjhayaṇas are sātisaya⁹, and hence they were reserved to be studied by the selected few only-the few who were not going to misuse them. As the number of these persons slowly and slowly became less and less owing to the vicious period we are passing through, according to the *Jaina* tradition, it naturally brought about the extinction of the *ajjhayaṇas* in question. As regards the rest, it appears that they must have fallen into oblivion owing to the lack of interest on the part of those who had to study them.