01
Digambara
Digambara means ‘sky-clad’. Its ideal of complete male monastic renunciation includes ownership of no clothing. Digambara nuns wear simple robes. The tradition holds that the earliest canonical teachings were lost and preserves a distinct body of authoritative texts.
Digambara communities include temple-going and reform traditions, and should not be treated as uniform.
02
Śvētāmbara
Śvētāmbara means ‘white-clad’, referring to the simple white clothing of its monastics. Śvētāmbaras preserve an Agamic canon and include Mūrtipūjaka, Sthānakavāsī, and Terāpanth communities.
Mūrtipūjaka communities centre temples and images in devotional life. Sthānakavāsī and Śvētāmbara Terāpanth communities do not practise image worship, placing emphasis on scripture, reflection, and the living ascetic community.
03
How traditions differ
Important differences include the status of surviving scripture, monastic clothing, some details of Mahavira’s life, image worship, and whether liberation from a female body is possible. These positions belong to particular traditions; none should be presented as the single Jain view.
- Shared foundations do not erase real differences
- Names can overlap: Digambara and Śvētāmbara each have a Terāpanth movement
- Local custom also shapes lived practice