Svetambara Murtipujaka: The Largest Image-Worshiping Branch of White-Clad Jainism and Its Gacchas

IOverview

What sets this branch apart from the other two Svetambara branches, the Sthanakvasi and the Terapanth, is right in its name: its followers worship images of the Tirthankaras in temples and perform puja before them. Its mendicants hold the mouth cloth, muhpatti, in front of the mouth when preaching or reading scripture, whereas mendicants of the other two branches wear it all day.

Most of the best known Jain temples, from Shatrunjaya hill at Palitana to the Dilwara temples on Mount Abu, belong to this tradition.

IIOrigins and History

The Svetambara and Digambara traditions drifted apart over the early centuries of the common era. The Valabhi council of 453 or 466, where Svetambara mendicants committed the Agamas to writing, is when the white-clad tradition took clear shape. Image worship was common practice throughout that time, so the Murtipujaka see themselves as the continuing mainstream rather than a new branch.

From around the 11th century the Svetambara order divided into gacchas, lineages passed from teacher to disciple. Dozens appeared over the centuries, and four survive today.

In the 15th century the Gujarati layman Lonka Shah rejected image worship, arguing that temple building and rituals harmed tiny living beings. The aniconic branches grew from his movement, and the name Murtipujaka came to distinguish the rest.

• 453 or 466Valabhi council
  Svetambara mendicants commit the Agamas to writing.
• 1023Kharatara Gaccha
  The monk Jineshvara wins a debate at Anahilvada Patan and is called Kharatara, the sharp one. The lineage traces itself to his teacher Vardhamana Suri.
• 1156Achal Gaccha
  Date given in the Wikipedia article on Jain schools and branches. Another article gives 1079, with Aryarakshitsuri as founder.
• 1228Tapa Gaccha
  Acharya Jagatchandrasuri receives the title Tapa for his austerities from the ruler of Mewar. It is now the largest gaccha.
• 1515Parshvachandra Gaccha
  The youngest of the four surviving gacchas.
• 19th centuryVijayanandasuri
  The monk Atmaram (1837 to 1896), originally a Sthanakvasi, found many scriptural references to image worship, joined the Murtipujaka and revitalized the order.

IIITeachings and Distinctive Features

On core doctrine the Murtipujaka share what all Jains hold: nonviolence, the many-sidedness of truth, non-possession, and the path of right faith, right knowledge and right conduct. Where they differ is in their canon and the role of images.

This branch accepts 45 Agamas, more than the 32 accepted by the Sthanakvasi and Terapanth. Some of the texts in the difference contain passages on temples and images.

IVTemples, Puja and the Ritual Year

Temples of this branch are called derasar. The best known rite is the ashtaprakari puja, an offering of eight substances: water, sandalwood, flowers, incense, a lamp, rice, sweets and fruit. Worshipers bathe, put on unstitched ritual clothes and cover their mouths with a cloth when touching the image.

Male mendicants are called sadhu and female mendicants sadhvi. They go barefoot and stay only briefly in any one place, except during the four monsoon months, chaturmas, when they remain in one location. According to the Wikipedia article on Jain schools and branches, nuns in the Tapa Gaccha today outnumber monks by about 3.5 to 1.

Shatrunjaya hill at Palitana, Mount Girnar, the Dilwara temples on Mount Abu built in 1031 and 1230, and the Ranakpur temple are major pilgrimage sites for this branch.

VOrganization and Distribution

Each gaccha has acharyas leading groups of mendicants, and sometimes a gacchadhipati heading the whole gaccha. There is no single leader over all the gacchas. Lay people organize into city sanghs that build temples, support mendicants and manage funds, and many large temples are run by lay trusts.

The branch is strongest in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Mumbai, and makes up most of the Jain communities in Britain, the United States and Kenya. India's census does not break Jains down by branch, so there are no reliable figures for the Murtipujaka alone.

VIIn Vietnam

There is no significant Murtipujaka community in Vietnam, no derasar and no resident mendicants. Mendicants of this branch go barefoot and do not use vehicles, so they have not spread their teaching beyond India in the usual way. Some Jains among the Indians working in Vietnam practice at home without any public place of worship.

VIISymbol of the Branch

Siddhachakra

सिद्धचक्र

VIIISub-branches

• Tapa Gaccha (largest)
• Kharatara Gaccha
• Achal Gaccha
• Parshvachandra Gaccha

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 path

XSources

The library cross-checks the sources below. Where they disagree, the page gives both.

1. Wikipedia, Murtipujaka
2. Wikipedia, Jain schools and branches
3. Wikipedia, Śvetāmbara
4. Britannica, Jainism
5. Vạn Đạo Đường, bài chính Kỳ Na Giáo

?Quick Questions

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