Within the Jain tradition, the Agamas occupy a unique position that does not fit neatly into the usual divide between “divine” and “man-made.” They are understood as the authentic teachings of Mahavira, a perfectly enlightened being whose knowledge is regarded as complete and flawless. These teachings were first received and transmitted by his chief disciples, the ganadharas, who preserved them through an oral lineage. In this sense, the origin of the Agamas is traced to an omniscient spiritual source rather than to an ordinary human author or a creator deity.

At the same time, there is a clear recognition that the texts as they exist are the result of human effort. The teachings of Mahavira, after being orally transmitted by the ganadharas, were later systematized, compiled, and written down by ascetics and ācāryas. Thus, while the content is revered as stemming from an enlightened source, the form in which it is now available is acknowledged to be shaped by human redaction and preservation. The scriptures are therefore seen as authoritative records of a transcendent teaching, yet mediated through historical processes and vulnerable to loss and alteration over time.

This dual understanding allows the Agamas to be honored as carrying the weight of a higher, omniscient insight, without claiming that they are the direct speech of a creator God or denying the role of human agency in their compilation. The reverence accorded to them rests on the conviction that they faithfully transmit, as far as possible, the spiritual instructions of Mahavira. At the same time, the awareness of their human transmission invites a careful, discerning engagement with the texts, treating them as both sacred heritage and historically conditioned documents.