In the Jain tradition, the Āgamas are revered as the canonical scriptures that preserve and systematize the spiritual teachings of Mahāvīra, the twenty‑fourth Tīrthaṅkara. The very term “Āgama” conveys the sense of a teaching that has “come down,” a body of doctrine transmitted from teacher to disciple. These texts are understood as the authoritative verbal record of Mahāvīra’s discourses, first received and organized by his principal disciples, the Gaṇadharas, and then carried forward through generations of monks. For a long period they were maintained as an oral tradition, and only later were they committed to writing. In this way, the Āgamas function as the scriptural bridge between Mahāvīra’s living presence and the enduring religious community that looks back to him.

Within Jainism, the Āgamas are not a single book but a structured collection of writings that together form the foundation of doctrine, ethics, and practice. They are traditionally classified into several groups: the Aṅgas as the primary canonical works, the Upāṅgas as supplementary texts, the Prakīrṇakas as miscellaneous treatises, the Cheda Sūtras dealing with monastic discipline, the Mūla Sūtras presenting fundamental teachings, and additional texts such as the Dr̥ṣṭivāda, remembered as a lost but once comprehensive scripture. Across these categories, the Āgamas address philosophy and cosmology, the nature of soul and karma, ethical conduct for both ascetics and lay followers, and detailed regulations for monastic life. They also contain narratives and illustrative stories that embody and clarify the core principles they expound.

A distinctive feature of the Jain understanding of Āgamas is the way different sects relate to them. Śvetāmbara Jains accept an existing corpus of Āgamas as authentic preservations of Mahāvīra’s message, even while acknowledging that some material has been lost over time. Digambara Jains, by contrast, hold that the original Āgamas disappeared several centuries after Mahāvīra and therefore do not recognize the Śvetāmbara canon as authoritative, turning instead to later works as their primary doctrinal sources. Despite this divergence, both perspectives affirm that what is sought in these texts is guidance on the path to liberation: the cultivation of non‑violence, disciplined conduct, and insight into the nature of reality. In this sense, the Āgamas are not merely historical documents but living sources of spiritual orientation, shaping how Jain communities understand and embody the way toward mokṣa.