Jainism by Vividus

Author(s): Ramnik V Shah
Publisher: Ramnik V Shah Canada

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The history of the post- Mahavira period is never complete without mentioning the great division that took place among the Jainas during the centuries immediately following the passing away of Mahavira. Nobody knows exactly when this schism took place, but it is certain that famine conditions of the severest type extending to over several years in North India, where Jainas were preponderant and the inability of the Jainas-both householders and saints-to keep up to the standard of observance of the vows and conduct laid down in their tenets, were responsible for it. It is stated that during the 1st century A.D., a band of saints under the leadership of Bhadrabahu had migrated to the south and after several years when they completed their mission of establishing and spreading Jainism mostly using Shravanbelgola as their main seat, on their return north they found that certain changes in the outward conduct of both saints and householders had taken place. Some leaders among saints were advocating dilution in the extremeness of the outward conduct as laid down in the tenets. It appears more probable that over centuries after the passing away of Mahavira, and not in any particular ten or twenty years of one century, these outward changes in food, clothing and shelter, as laid down in the tenets as required and as were then possible in the climatic, social and famine conditions as then existed at various places among various groups of Jaina saints as well as their householder families, were taking place gradually, not known to each other because of living at a great distance from one another and only at the end of the 1st century A.D. after Bhadrabahu's return, each became aware of the existing mutual differences. The most important visible difference was in respect to clothing. The group which maintained that the saints even in their highest state of evolution need not discard clothing was named Shwetambara group (group with white clothing) and the group which maintained that in such highest state, it was necessary and incumbent upon the saints to discard all clothing, to the point of being and remaining for and at all times thereafter till death, completely naked, was named Digambara group (group with only
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