Śrāvakācāra in Canon: Considering the Case of the Upāsakadaśāh

Śrāvakācāra cognates the Sanskrit words śrāvaka, literally translatable to “one who listens” and used contextually to indicate the Jain householder laity, and ācāra meaning “conduct,” together meaning roughly lay conduct. In that sense, the Upāsakadaśāh, the Seventh Angā of the Śvetāmbara canon, fulfills just the function of a śrāvakācāra without being so categorized by Jains or scholars of Jainism as such. This makes the Upāsakadaśāh a unique example of a text that focuses on lay conduct whilst being part of the core of the Śvetāmbara canon. This paper will historicize the Upāsakadaśāh’s role as one of the earliest consolidated attempts by the predominantly monastic Jain ascetics to situate the laity within their theological-philosophical framework. It will analyze how the framers of the Śvetāmbara canon constructed a consolidated discourse on lay conduct, complete with both doctrine and narrative tales that image the ideal Śvetāmbara śrāvaka.