Jain Legend Vol 2

Author(s): Hastimal Maharaj, Shuganchand Jain, P S Surana
Publisher: Hastimal Maharaj Shugan C Jain P S Surana

Page 285

vet mbara sect and it came into being 136 years after the death of King Vikram.
Different – different versions about the origin of vet mbara sect are found in the three scriptures of Digambara sect like, Bh vasamgraha, Vrihat Kath Ko and Bhadrab hu Caritra written by Ratnanandi.
In all vet mbara works like “Vi e va yaka Bh ya, va yaka C ri, Sth n mga' etc., the main event for the birth of the vatic sect (Digambara sect) appears totally the same, without any prejudiced and diversified opinions. Whereas in the texts of Digambara sect, varied versions are found, which are more or less biased in their narration.
In conclusion, it can be said that on the basis of the information available from the texts of both the sects, the sectarian division of Digambara & vet mbara took place in 606 or 609 V.N.
Division of congregations in Digambara tradition
Four branches sprouted in vet mbara sect, namely, Candra, N gendra, Niv tti and Vidhy dhara, and many sub-branches (Kulas). Similarly many divisions sprang up in the Digambara sect also like, K h congregation, M la congregation, Mathura congregation and Gopya congregation, besides Nandiga a. Bal tak ra Ga a and different other branches as mentioned in different texts. They are discussed in brief.
The scholars of the Digambara sect held that the Jain Order functioned unbroken right from the nirva of Mah v ra up to c rya Arhadbali. But in 593 V.N., on the occasion of the five-yearly periodical session of confessions, when all the ascetics assembled in a congregation in Mahim Nagara, crya Arhadbali noticed that the various c ryas were displaying favoritism towards their respective disciples. So he divided the main congregation into many branches. Later, these branches began working independently and established their separate identity. Some of the names of the congregations, divided by Arhadbali c rya are as follows:
285