| Part ofa series on |
| Jainism |
|---|
 |
Ethics Ethics of Jainism
|
Major sects |
Jainism is an Indian religion which is traditionally believed to be propagated by twenty-four spiritual teachers known astirthankara. Broadly, Jainism is divided into two majorschools of thought,Digambara andŚvetāmbara. These are further divided into different sub-sects and traditions. While there are differences in practices, the core philosophy and main principles of each sect is the same.
 | This section'sfactual accuracy isdisputed. Relevant discussion may be found on thetalk page. Please help to ensure that disputed statements arereliably sourced.(January 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Traditionally, the original doctrine of Jainism was contained in scriptures called Purva. There were fourteen Purva. These are believed to have originated fromRishabhanatha, the firsttirthankara.[1] There was a twelve-year famine around fourth century BCE.[2] The undivided Jain sangha was headed by Acharya Krishnasuri, who initiatedSivabhuti as a monk.[3][4][5] As a result of his rebellion, anger, and gross misinterpretation of the canonical scriptures of Jainism, he began roaming naked and propagating that public nudity was accepted as per Jain scriptures.[6] The sect that continued to follow the canon came to be known as Śvetāmbara.[7] Followers ofSivabhuti came to be known as Digambaras. This is how the Digambara and Śvetāmbara sect came about.[8][9][10][11] TheDigambara being the naked ones where asŚvetāmbara being the white clothed. According to Digambara, the purvas and the angas were lost.[12] About 980 to 993 years after the Nirvana of Mahavira, aVallabhi council was held atVallabhi (now in Gujarat). This was headed byDevardhi Ksamashramana.[12][13] It was found that the 12th Anga, the Ditthivaya, was lost too. The other Angas were written down.[12] This is a traditional account of schism.[14] According to Śvetāmbara, there were eight schisms (Nihnava).[15]
According to Digambara tradition,Ganadhara knew fourteenPurva and elevenAnga. Knowledge of Purva was lost around 436 years afterMahavira and Anga were lost around 683 years after Mahavira.[16] The texts which do not belong to Anga are called Angabahyas. There were fourteen Angabahyas. The first four Angabahyas,Samayika,Chaturvimasvika,Vandana andPratikramana corresponds to sections of secondMulasutra of Śvetāmbara. The only texts of angabahyas which occurs in Śvetāmbara texts areDasavaikalika,Uttaradhyayana andKalpavyavahara.[17]
Early Jain images from Mathura depict iconography of the Śvetāmbara sect. Differences between Digambara and Śvetāmbara sects deepened whenBappabhattisuri defeated Digambaras atGirnar Jain temples.[18]
Other than rejecting or accepting different ancient Jain texts, Digambaras and Śvetāmbara differ in other significant ways such as:
Digambara (sky-clad) is one of the two main sects ofJainism.[36] This sect of Jainism rejects the authority of theJain Agama compiled at the Vallabhi Council under the leadership ofDevardhigani Kshamashraman.[37] They believe that by the time of Dharasena, the twenty-third teacher after Gandhar Gautama, knowledge of only one Anga was there. This was about 683 years after the death ofMahavira. After Dharasena's pupils Acharya Puspadanta and Bhutabali. They wrote down theShatkhandagama, the only scripture of the digambara sect. The other scripture is theKasay-pahuda.[38][39] According to Digambara tradition,Mahavira, the lastjaina tirthankara, never married. He renounced the world at the age of thirty after taking permission of his parents.[40] The Digambara believe that after attaining enlightenment, Mahavira was free from human activities like hunger, thirst, and sleep.[41]Digambara monks tradition do not wear any clothes. They carry only a broom made up of fallen peacock feathers and a water gourd.[42] One of the most important scholar-monks of Digambara tradition wasAcharya Kundakunda. He authored Prakrit texts such as Samayasara and Pravachansara. Samantabhadra was another important monk of this tradition.[43] The Digambara are present mainly in Southern India, Bundelkhand region (Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, etc. Digambar tradition is divided into two main ordersMula Sangh and theKashtha Sangh. Among the prominent DigambaraAcharyas today areAcharya Vidyasagar, Acharya Vardhman sagar, Acharya Vidyananda.[citation needed]
Digambar tradition has two main monastic ordersMula Sangh and theKashtha Sangh, both led byBhattarakas. Other notable monastic orders include theDigambara Terapanth which emerged in the 17th century.[44] Śvetāmbaras have their ownsanghs, but unlike Digambaras which have had predominantlysadhu sanghs (male monastic organizations), they have majorsadhu andsadhvisanghs (monks and nuns).[45]
Mula Sangh is an ancient monastic order. Mula literally meansroot ororiginal.[46] The great AcharyaKundakunda is associated with Mula Sangh. The oldest known mention of Mula Sangh is from 430 CE.Mula Sangh was divided into a few branches. According toShrutavatara andNitisar ofBhattaraka Indranandi, Acharya Arhadbali had organised a council of Jain monks, and had given names (gana or sangha) to different groups. The four major groups wereNandi Gana,Sena Gana,Deva Gana andSimha Gana. TheBhattarakas ofShravanabelagola,Mudabidri andHumbaj belongs to theNandi Gana.[citation needed]
Kashtha Sangha was amonastic order once dominant in several regions of North and WesternIndia. It is said to have originated from a town named Kashtha. The origin of Kashtha Sangha is often attributed to Lohacharya in several texts and inscriptions from Delhi region.[47] The Kashtasangh Gurvavali identifies Lohacharya as the last person who knewAcharanga in the Digambara tradition, who lived until around 683-year after thenirvana of LordMahavira.[48] Several Digambara orders in North India belonged toKashtha Sangha. TheAgrawal Jains were the major supporters of Kashtha Sangha. They were initiated by Lohacharya. Kashta Sangha has several orders includingNanditat gachchha,[49]Mathura Sangha,Bagada gachha andLata-bagada gachha. The celebrated poet and pratishthacharyaRaighu was a disciple of the Kashtha SanghBhattarakas ofGwalior. The rock carved Jain statues in theGwalior Fort were mostly consecrated by the Kashtha SanghBhattarakas.[citation needed]
TheDigambar Terapanth subsect was formed by Amra Bhaunsa Godika and his son Jodhraj Godika during 1664–1667 in opposition to the bhattakaras. The Bhattaraka are the priestly class of Jainism who are responsible for maintaining libraries and other Jain institutions.[50] TheTerapanth sub-sect among theDigambara Jains emerged around the Jaipur (Sanganer,Amber and Jaipur region itself).[44] Godika duo expressed opposition to theBhattaraka Narendrakirti of Amber. AuthorsDaulatram Kasliwal andPandit Todarmal[51]) were associated with the Terapanth movement. They opposed worship of various minor gods and goddesses. Some Terapanthi practices, like not using flowers in worship, gradually spread throughout North India among the Digambaras.[52] Bakhtaram in his "Mithyatva Khandan Natak" (1764) mentions that group that started it included thirteen individuals, who collectively built a new temple, thus giving it its name Tera-Panth (Thirteen Path). However, according to "Kavitta Terapanth kau" by a Chanda Kavi, the movement was named Tera Panth, because the founders disagreed with the Bhattaraka on thirteen points. A letter of 1692 from Tera Panthis at Kama to those at Sanganer mentions thirteen rituals that were rejected. These are mentioned in Buddhivilas (1770) of Bakhtaram. These are– authority of Bhattarakas, Use of flowers, cooked food or lamps, Abhisheka (panchamrita), consecration of images without supervision by the representatives of Bhattarakas, Puja while seated, Puja at night, Using drums in the temple and Worship of minor gods like dikpalas, shasan devis (Padmavati etc.) and Kshetrapal. The Digambara Jains who have continued to follow these practices are termedBispanthi. This sub-sect opposes use of flowers for worship of Tirthankara idols. However, use of flowers to worship monks and nuns is widespread amongst followers of Digambar Terapanth.[citation needed]
TheTaran Panth was founded by Taran Svami inBundelkhand in 1505.[53] They do not believe in idol worshiping. Instead, the taranapantha community prays to the scriptures written by Taran Swami.[citation needed]Taran Svami is also referred to as Taran Taran, the one who can help the swimmers to the other side, i.e. towardsnirvana. A mystical account of his life, perhaps an autobiography, is given in Chadmastha Vani. The language in his fourteen books is a unique blend ofPrakrit,Sanskrit andApabhramsha. His language was perhaps influenced by his reading of the books of AcharyaKundakunda. Commentaries on six of the main texts composed by Taran Svami were written by Brahmacari Shitala Prasad in the 1930s. Commentaries on other texts have also been written recently.Osho, who was born into a Taranpanthi family, has included Shunya Svabhava and Siddhi Svabhava as among the books that influenced him most.[54] The number of Taranpanthis is very small. Their shrines are called Chaityalaya (or sometimes Nisai/Nasia). At the altar (vimana) they have a book instead of an idol. The Taranpanthis were originally from six communities.
Several scholars and scriptures of other religions as well as those of their counterpartŚvetāmbara Jains[55] criticize their practices of public nudity as well as their belief that women are incapable of attaining spiritual liberation.[56][57][58]
_Brooklyn_Museum_87.188.5.jpg)
The Śvetāmbara (white-clad) is one of the two main sects ofJainism.Śvetāmbara is a term describing itsascetics' practice of wearing white clothes, which sets it apart from theDigambara whose ascetic practitioners go naked.[61] Śvetāmbaras, unlike Digambaras, do not believe thatascetics must practice nudity. Śvetāmbara monks usually wear white maintaining that nudism is no longer practical. Śvetāmbaras also believe that women are able to obtainmoksha. Śvetāmbaras maintain that the 19thTirthankara,Mallinath, was a woman. Some Śvetāmbara monks and nuns (Sthanakvasis and Terapanthis) cover their mouth with a white cloth ormuhapatti to practiseahimsa even when they talk.[62] By doing so they minimise the possibility of inhaling small organisms. The Śvetāmbara tradition follows the lineage ofAcharyaSthulibhadra Suri. TheKalpa Sūtra mentions some of the lineages in ancient times.[63]
Both of the major Jain traditions evolved into sub-traditions over time. For example, the devotional worship traditions of Śvetāmbara are referred to asMurti-pujakas, those who live in and around Jain temples becameDeravasi orMandira-margi. Those who avoid temples and pursue their spirituality at a designated monastic meeting place came to be known asSthānakavāsī.[64][65]
Śvētāmbaras who are not Sthānakavāsins are calledMurtipujaka (Idol-worshipers). Murtipujaka differ fromSthanakvasi Śvetāmbara in that theirderasars contain idols of theTirthankaras instead of empty rooms. They worship idols and have rituals for it. Murtipujakamonastics and worshippers do not use themuhapatti, a piece of cloth over the mouth, during prayers, whereas it is permanently worn by Sthanakvasi. The most prominent among the classical orders calledGacchas today are the Kharatara,Tapa and theTristutik. Major reforms byVijayanandsuri of the Tapa Gaccha in 1880 led a movement to restore orders of wandering monks, which brought about the near-extinction of the Yati institutions.Acharya Rajendrasuri restored theshramana organisation in theTristutik Order.[66]
The monks of Murtipujaka sect are divided into six orders orGaccha. These are:[67]
Kharatara Gaccha is one ofŚvetāmbaragacchas. It is also called Vidhisangha (the Assembly) as they follow sacred texts literally.[68][69] It was founded by Vardhamana Suri[69] (1031). His teacher was a temple-dwelling monk. He rejected him because of not following texts.[68]His pupil, Jineshvara, got honorary title 'Kharatara' (Sharp witted or Fierce) because he defeated Suracharya, leader of Chaityavasis in public debate in 1023 at AnahilvadaPatan. So the Gaccha got his title.[69] Another tradition regards Jinadatta Suri (1075–1154) as a founder of Gaccha.[69] Kharatara ascetics follow the sacred texts to the word. They follow basicŚvetāmbara canon and works of other Kharatara teachers.[68]
Tristutik Gaccha was aMurtipujakaŚvetāmbaraJain religious grouping preceding the founding of theTapa Gaccha byAcharya Rajendrasuri. It was established in 1194. It was known asAgamaGaccha in ancient times. The Tristutik believed in devotion to theTirthankaras alone in most rituals, although offerings to helper divinities were made during large ceremonies. The Tristutik Gaccha was reformed byAcharya Rajendrasuri.
Tapa Gaccha is the largestmonastic order ofŚvetāmbaraJainism. It was founded by Acharya Jagat Chandrasuri in 1229. He was given the title of "Tapa" (i.e. the meditative one) by the ruler ofMewar. Vijayananda Suri was responsible for reviving the wandering orders among the Śvetāmbara monks. As a result of this reform, most Śvetāmbara Jain monks today belong to the Tapa Gaccha.
A major dispute was initiated by Lonka Shaha, who started a movement opposed to idol worship in 1476.Sthānakavāsī is a sect ofJainism founded by a merchant named Lavaji about 1653 CE that do not pray to any statue.[70] The sect is essentially a reformation of the one founded on teachings of Lonka.[71] Sthānakavāsīs reject all but thirty-two of theŚvetāmbara canon.
Terapanth is another reformist religious sect underŚvetāmbara Jainism. It was founded byAcharya Bhikshu, also known as Swami Bhikanji Maharaj. Swami Bhikanji was formerly a Sthanakvasi saint and had initiation by Acharya Raghunatha. But he had differences with his Guru on several aspects of religious practices ofSthanakvasi ascetics. Hence he left the Sthanakvasi sect with the motto of correcting practise of Jain monks, eventually on 28 June 1760 at Kelwa, a small town inUdaipur district ofRajasthan state, Terapanth was founded by him. This sect is also non-idolatrous.[72][73][74][75]
About the 18th century, the Śvetāmbara and Digambara traditions saw an emergence of separate Terapanthi movements.[65][76][77]Śvetāmbara Terapanth was started by Acharya Bhikshu in 18th century.[78]
Yapaniya was a Jain order in western Karnataka which is now extinct. The first inscription that mentions them by Mrigesavarman (AD 475–490) aKadamba king of Palasika who donated for a Jain temple, and made a grant to the sects of Yapaniyas, Nirgranthas (identifiable asDigambaras), and the Kurchakas (not identified).[79][80] The last inscription which mentioned the Yapaniyas was found in theTuluva region southwestKarnataka, dated Saka 1316 (1394 CE).[81] Yapaniya rose to its dominance in second century CE and declined after their migration toDeccan merging withDigambara orŚvetāmbara.[82]The Yapaniyas worshipped nude images of the Tirthankaras in their temples and their monks were nudes, but they occassionally allowed clothes in case of disease or bodily needs. Moreovoer the yapaniyas believed that women were able to achieve nirvana which the Śvetāmbaras also believe.[83] According to Acharya Shrutsagarsuri, Yapaniyas also believed that followers of other doctrines could achieve nirvana, and Yapaniya monks were allowed to wear blankets and sheets to protect themselves from the cold and wore clothes to protect themselves and others from infections and diseases which makes them closer to Śvetāmbaras than Digambaras who strictly believe that only adherents of the Digambara sect can achieve liberation and that nudity is mandatory to achieve liberation.[84]
| Gods | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philosophy | |||||
| Branches |
| ||||
| Practices | |||||
| Literature | |||||
| Symbols | |||||
| Ascetics | |||||
| Scholars | |||||
| Community |
| ||||
| Jainism in |
| ||||
| Jainism and | |||||
| Dynasties and empires | |||||
| Related | |||||
| Lists | |||||
| Navboxes | |||||
