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AN EPITOME OF JAINISM bara, and the other became known as Digambara.
The Digambars believe that absolute nudity is imperative for perfectness, while the Shvetämbars assert that perfectness can be attained even by those who clothe themselves. The difference really speaking has its origin in the idea that a person attaining to Kevala jnan (perfect knowledge) comes no longer under the sway of appetites or passions and does not therefore require any food or clothing. According to the Shvetämbars, such a holy personage, although he need not wear any clothes, does not appear before society unclothed but clad in white robes, while the Digambars hold that he does not use any clothes and appears before us alt nude.
But this is not the only point of difference between the two branches. There are also other differences as regards some eighty-four minor dogmas, which resulted in the production of sectarian literature and rules of conduct for the church and the laity. One important point of disagreement to be noted, is the exclusion of women from the Order by the Digambars. As they hold,
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