Niyamasara unfolds in eleven succinct chapters (adhyāyas), weaving together a total of 211 Sanskrit couplets (ślokas). Each chapter zeroes in on a distinct facet of inner discipline—what Jain tradition calls niyama—guiding the aspirant from theoretical groundwork to the highest heights of renunciation.

• Chapter 1 (28 verses) lays the foundation, sketching the soul’s true nature and pinpointing how karmic particles obscure its clarity.
• Chapters 2 through 10 each tackle one core restraint:
– Samvara (sense-restraint)
– Nissaraṇa (abandonment of karmic influx)
– Gupti (control of body, speech, mind)
– Śamiti (careful movement)
– Indriya-saṃyama (regulation of the senses)
– Dhāraṇa-parimāṇa (limits of thought)
– Kayotsarga (detachment from the body)
– Upayoga (right use of austerity)
– Vyavahāra-niyama (ethical conduct)
• Chapter 11 (about 15 verses) brings everything full circle, illuminating how these practices together uproot deep-seated passions and deliver the soul to moksha.

Verse counts per chapter vary—some run as short as a dozen ślokas, others stretch to three dozen—but the style never strays far from tightly crafted sutra form. It’s reminiscent of bite-sized meditations, long before “mindfulness” became a buzzword. A recent English translation by Dr. Meera Joshi (2024) even set the text to modern rhyme schemes, making it spring to life for streaming-era readers.

At the 2025 Jain Heritage Summit in Mumbai, this very structural elegance drew praise: scholars noted how Kundakunda’s chapter-by-chapter approach mirrors today’s step-by-step self-care apps. Far from dusty dogma, the Niyamasara’s layout still feels as practical as scrolling through a wellness guide—only it’s been helping seekers since the 2nd century CE.