Page 53: The Split and Early Lineage
● In a specific context, it is written describing the Shramanas of that time that they tie a
waist cloth (Kativastra) without any specific reason.
● In this way, they first started wearing a loincloth; but later, the Shwetambars began
wearing white clothes.
● About 1000 years after the Nirvana of Mahavira, the compilation of the elevenAngas
was systematically done based on the memory of the monks, which the Digambars do
not follow.
● Along with the wearing of clothes, literary differences also became a cause for the split
between Shwetambars and Digambars.
● Therefore, the time of their split, based on epigraphical evidence, occurred before the
1st Century AD.
● According to the Shwetambar sect, women can also achieve the attainment of salvation
(Moksha). Additionally, taking food is not an obstacletoKeval-Gyana(supreme
knowledge).
● Conversely, the people of the Digambar sect did not believe in these two principles.
● The history of the Shwetambar sect is found chronologically in theKalpasutra, which
mentions 4,200 disciples of the Ganadhara named Gautama after Mahavira.
Page 54: Historical Outline and Sub-divisions
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● hravastika and three other branches and 'Ganika' etc., four lineages were established.
● A branch named 'Madav Gana' was established by one of his disciples, Rishi Gupta.
● Looking at the names of these branches and sub-branches, it is known that besides
geographical differences, sub-branches were also established based on 'Gotras'.
● The 'Povik Gana' was established by Sthavir Suhasthi, from which branches like
Uchchanagari and Vidyadhari emerged.
● Similarly, various branches, lineages, and clans were established by different Acharyas.
These appear to be various divisions of the Shwetambar sect.
● The history of this sect is known from theSthaviravaliof theKalpasutraand inscriptions
found from the Kankali Tila (mound) of Mathura.
Page 55: Comparison of Principles
● A ccording to this sect (Shwetambar), the attainment of salvation was not possible
through the hard penance of Shramanas alone; they followed theMiddle Path.
● This created a contrast with the Digambar Acharyas who promoted nudity.
● To make the religion popular and successful, Shwetambar Acharyas allowed wearing
clothes and allowed women to enter the Sangha.
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● he Shwetambar sect accepted that aKevali(liberated soul) could still consume food.
● The Digambar sect strictly rejects three things: wearing clothes, salvation for women,
and food intake by aKevali.
● These fundamental differences created a deep gulf between the two sects, leading to
different codes of conduct (Acharavalis).
Page 56 & 57: The Chaityavasi Sect
● 1 . Chaityavasi Shwetambar Sect:The monks of the Shwetambarsect who remained
are calledJatiorShripujya.
● Their history begins around 550 years after the Nirvana of Mahavira.
● Some monks with "dry conduct" (strict) gave up the life of wandering and began living
permanently in temples (Chaityas) or monasteries forthe purpose of stability.
● Because they resided in aChaitya, they were calledChaityavasi.
● Gradually their numbers grew, and they even authored a scripture namedNigam.
● In theSambodhi Prakaran, it is mentioned that Chaityavasimonks live in temples,
perform Puja and Aarti, and use "Dev-Dravya" (temple funds).
● They were different from the wandering Shramanas who moved from place to place.
Page 58 & 59: Evolution of the Shwetambar Community
● In this way, the Shwetambar Shramana community was divided into two parts: one that
supported the wandering tradition (Vihar) and anotherthat resided permanently in
temples/monasteries (Chaityas).
● It was here that the creation of their literature and education began.
● According to this Shramana community, the first Jina Rishabhdev and the last Jina
Mahavira preached the doctrine ofAchelatva(nudity),but the 22 Tirthankaras in
between preached bothSachel(clothed) andAchel(unclothed)doctrines.
● Digambars do not agree with this; according to them, all 24 Tirthankaras preached only
theAchel(nudity) doctrine.
Page 60: The Digambar Mula Sangha
● A ccording to some thinkers, the rule of residing in temples mentioned inRatnamala
belongs to the Shwetambar Chaityavasis.
● In the Digambar sect, there is no mention of such a belief, but there are hints that some
Digambars imitated these principles.
● The developed form of this in the Digambar sect was theBhattaraksystem, which was
later opposed by theTerapanthmovement.
● A
charya Indranandi mentions that AcharyaArhatbalidivided the Mula Sangha into four
branches to avoid sectarianism:Nandi, Sen, Dev, andSimha.
Page 61 & 62: The Four Pseudo-Jain Sanghas (Jainabhas)
● T heDarshansarmentions the origin of certain Sanghascalled 'Jainabhas'
(Pseudo-Jains):Shwetambar, Yapaniya, Dravid, Mathur,and Kastha.
● Dravid Sangha:Founded by Vajranandi (disciple ofPoojyapada) in South Mathura.
They believed seeds have no life.
● Yapaniya Sangha:Founded by Shwetambar monk Shri Kalashin Kalyan Nagar (205
years after Vikram). They wore clothes but followed some Digambar practices.
● Kastha Sangha:Founded by Kumar Sen in Vikram Samvat643. They used 'Chamar'
instead of peacock feathers.
● Mathur Sangha:Founded by Ramsen Munis in Mathura(200 years after Kastha
Sangha). They abandoned the use of the 'Peechi' (feather broom) entirely.
● Bhillak Sangha:Founded by Veera Chandramuni on theVindhya mountains. He
preached among the Bhil tribes.