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Their Diversity : 23 As already mentioned, the Digambara don't consider the sacred books of the Svetāmbara as valid. They have compiled their own procanonical literature that we will study in Chapter 4 but they recognize also the value, with few exceptions, and of the “Tattvārthādhigamasūtra” by Umāsvāti and the “Samana Suttam" by Jinendra Varņī.
The Svetāmbara and the Digambara have different views not only on the doctrine, which we will explore next, but also on rituals, religious practices, festivals, ceremonies, etc.
On doctrinal matter, the Digambara think that nuns, being females, cannot practice nudity and therefore may not attain “mokşa”. The only way for them to be liberated is to be reborn in a male body. The Svetāmbara do not consider nudity compulsory to attain liberation and so state that females may, like males, be liberated without having to reborn. They even assert that Marudevī, mother of Rşabha, was the first woman of the present era to be liberated and that Malli (the 19th Tīrthankara) was a Princess of Videha who renounced worldly affairs to become a nun and to preach Jainism.
The Digambara who worship images of the Tīrthankara show all of them as males and without clothes or ornaments, like Mahāvīra when he lived as an ascetic. The Svetāmbara adorn their images with precious garments, crowns and jewels as an affirmation of their majesty.
The Digambara also assert that as soon as an ascetic attains perfect knowledge (kevala-jñāna) he no longer needs to eat. The Śvetāmbara consider that totally impossible.
The Svetāmbara say that God Indra made transfer Mahāvīra's embryo from the womb of the Brāhmaṇi Devānandā to that of the
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