In the Jain tradition, the Āgamas are revered as the primary canonical scriptures that preserve the spiritual teachings of Mahāvīra, transmitted through his chief disciples, the gaṇadharas. They are regarded as the authentic record of his sermons and thus function as the ultimate religious authority, the foundational source for understanding Jain doctrine, ethics, and spiritual practice. From them arise the core philosophical and spiritual principles of the path: the nature of the soul (jīva), the workings of karma, the reality of saṃsāra, and the possibility of liberation (mokṣa). They also articulate the Three Jewels—right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct—as the essential framework for spiritual progress.

Beyond doctrine, the Āgamas shape the concrete texture of Jain life, both monastic and lay. They lay down detailed rules for ascetic discipline, community conduct, and spiritual austerities, while also specifying ethical guidelines and graded vows for householders. Central ethical ideals such as ahiṃsā, truthfulness, non-stealing, celibacy, and non-possession are given systematic form in these texts, so that daily conduct becomes a vehicle for inner purification. Rituals, observances, and forms of worship likewise find their scriptural grounding here, giving the communal and devotional life of Jains a coherent scriptural backbone.

The significance of the Āgamas also appears in how they define the contours of Jain scriptural tradition itself. Śvetāmbara Jains affirm a preserved canon of Āgamas as the living word of Mahāvīra, while Digambara Jains hold that the original Āgamas were lost and look instead to later Prakrit and Sanskrit works rooted in the same teachings. Despite these differences, both regard the notion of Āgama—Mahāvīra’s transmitted word—as normative and central. In this way, the Āgamas are not only a collection of texts but the touchstone by which Jain belief, practice, and spiritual aspiration are measured and oriented.