IOverview
Digambara, दिगम्बर, means sky-clad, one who wears the directions as a garment. It is one of the two major Jain traditions, alongside the Svetambara. Its male monks wear no clothing, since clothes count as a possession and washing them harms tiny living beings.
The difference from the Svetambara goes beyond dress. The Digambara hold that Mahavira's original scriptures are lost, that a woman must be reborn as a man to reach liberation, and that an omniscient being no longer eats. The tradition has its own scriptures, its own monastic organization and its own pilgrimage centers, such as Shravanabelagola in Karnataka.
IIOrigins and History
Digambara tradition tells that during a twelve-year famine in Magadha, the elder Bhadrabahu led part of the order south to Karnataka and kept the practice of nudity. Those who stayed in the north under Sthulabhadra put on white robes out of necessity and never gave them up. In this telling, the Digambara preserve the practice of Mahavira himself.
The Svetambara tell the story the other way round, and historians take neither side. Inscriptions from Kushan era Mathura show that differences in dress already existed in the 1st and 2nd centuries. Scholars now see the split as a gradual hardening over several centuries.
- 4th to 3rd century BCEBhadrabahu goes southIn Digambara tradition, linked with King Chandragupta Maurya and the hill at Shravanabelagola.
- Around the 2nd centuryShatkhandagamaThe oldest surviving scripture of the tradition, preserved in manuscripts at Moodabidri.
- Early centuries CE, date debatedKundakundaThe most revered Digambara teacher, author of the Samayasara and Pravacanasara.
- 981 to 983The Bahubali statueThe stone statue, about 17 meters tall, is raised at Shravanabelagola.
- 17th centuryTerapanthi and Bisapanthi splitThe Adhyatma movement in Agra gives rise to the Terapanthi, who reject the authority of the bhattarakas.
- About 1920 to 1955Shantisagar revives the orderAcharya Shantisagar (1872 to 1955) was the first Digambara monk of the 20th century to wander across India, reviving the sky-clad order in the north.
IIITeachings and Scriptures
The Digambara share with all Jains the five great vows, the doctrine of the many-sidedness of truth and the Namokar prayer. Points often cited as distinctive:
- A woman must be reborn as a man to attain liberation.
- Mallinatha, the nineteenth Tirthankara, was male.
- Mahavira never married.
- An omniscient being no longer feels hunger, thirst or the need to sleep.
- Tirthankara images are carved unclothed with downcast eyes.
Because they hold the original Agamas to be lost, the Digambara do not accept the Svetambara Agamas. Their oldest scriptures are the Shatkhandagama and the Kasayapahuda, from around the 2nd century. Later works are grouped into four anuyogas: narratives of the Tirthankaras, cosmology, conduct and philosophy. Kundakunda's works, such as the Samayasara, hold a very high place.
Not so. Only fully ordained male Digambara monks do. Digambara nuns, called aryika, wear white, and all Svetambara mendicants wear white. For the Digambara, going unclothed signifies renunciation, not display.
IVThe Twenty-Eight Root Virtues and Lay Life
A male Digambara monk, called a muni, observes 28 root virtues, the mula guna: five great vows, five kinds of carefulness, five restraints of the senses, six daily duties and seven special rules.
| Group | Content |
|---|---|
| Five great vows | Nonviolence, truthfulness, not taking what is not given, celibacy, non-possession. |
| Five kinds of carefulness | Care in walking, speaking, eating, handling implements and disposing of waste. |
| Five restraints | Letting go of attraction and aversion toward the five senses. |
| Six duties | Equanimous meditation, homage to the Tirthankaras, reverence for teachers, confession, vows of renunciation, standing meditation abandoning the body. |
| Seven rules | No clothing, plucking hair by hand, no bathing, no brushing teeth, sleeping on the ground, one meal a day, eating standing from the palms. |
Monks carry only a whisk of fallen peacock feathers, the picchi, to brush the ground where they sit or walk, and a water gourd, the kamandalu. Lay followers worship images in temples, keep a vegetarian diet, avoid eating after sunset and offer food to monks under strict ritual rules.
VOrganization, Sub-sects and Distribution
The Digambara order was historically divided into sanghas such as the Mula Sangha and the Kashtha Sangha. From the medieval period, bhattarakas, clothed custodians of temples and libraries, took on an organizing role in many places while naked munis were few. In the 17th century the Digambara Terapanthi rejected the bhattarakas' authority and some rites such as flower offerings and worship of guardian deities. Those who kept the older ways are called Bisapanthi. Smaller groups include the Taranpanthi, Gumanapanthi and Totapanthi, as well as the Kanjipanthi lay movement.
The 20th century saw a revival of the muni order, from Acharya Shantisagar to Acharya Vidyasagar (1946 to 2024), who died on 18 February 2024 at Dongargarh after undertaking sallekhana. A survey from the 1970s and 1980s counted about 125 Digambara monks and 50 nuns, against about 1,200 Svetambara monks and 3,400 nuns. No more recent reliable figures are available.
The tradition is strongest in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. Major centers include Shravanabelagola, Moodabidri and Sammed Shikharji in Jharkhand.
VIIn Vietnam
There is no significant Digambara community in Vietnam. Monks of this tradition do not use vehicles or boats, so they are not present outside India. The trace Vietnamese readers are most likely to meet is in Chinese-language Buddhist sutras, where naked ascetics are called lõa hình ngoại đạo and Jains are called Ni Kiền Tử.
VIISymbol of the Branch
Peacock feather whisk and water gourd
पिच्छी Picchī, कमण्डलु Kamaṇḍalu
VIIISub-branches
- Bisapanthi
- Digambara Terapanthi (distinct from the Svetambara Terapanth)
- Taranpanthi
- Gumanapanthi
- Totapanthi
- Kanjipanthi
IXOther Branches of Jainism
Svetambara Murtipujakaश्वेताम्बर मूर्तिपूजक Śvetāmbara MūrtipūjakaThe largest Svetambara branch, white-clad.Digambaraदिगम्बर DigambaraThe second major stream.
Sthanakvasiस्थानकवासी SthānakavāsīAn aniconic Svetambara branch, going back to Lonka Shah in the 15th century and formed in the 17th century by Lava of Surat.
Svetambara Terapanthश्वेताम्बर तेरापंथ Śvetāmbara TerāpanthAn aniconic Svetambara branch founded by Acharya Bhikshu on 28 June 1760, splitting from the Sthanakvasi.Uses the common symbol of the pathKanji Panth (Mumukshu)कानजी पंथ Kānjī PanthA lay movement following Kanji Swami (1890 to 1980), a former Sthanakvasi monk who turned to the Digambara path in 1934, centred at Songadh, Gujarat.Uses the common symbol of the pathTaran Panthतारण पंथ Tāraṇ PanthA Digambara branch founded by Taran Svami in 1505 in Bundelkhand.Uses the common symbol of the pathXSources
The library cross-checks the sources below. Where they disagree, the page gives both.
?Quick Questions
Why do Digambara monks wear no clothes?
In this tradition clothing is a possession, must be washed and so harms tiny beings, and keeping it is a form of attachment. Giving it up is the final step of the vow of non-possession. Only fully ordained male monks follow this rule, while nuns wear white.
How do Digambara and Svetambara differ?
They differ over the dress of male monks, the scriptures, whether women can be liberated in a female body, and some details of Mahavira's life. They still share most doctrine and the Namokar prayer.
What is the peacock feather whisk for?
The picchi, made from naturally shed peacock feathers, is used to gently brush the places where a monk sits, lies or sets things down, so as not to crush insects. It and the water gourd are the only things a monk carries.