Mahavira and his Teaching

Author(s): C C Shah, Rishabhdas Ranka, Dalsukh Malvania
Publisher: Bhagwan Mahavir 2500th Nirvan Mahotsava Samiti

Page 278

THE GENESIS OF THE DIGAMBARA
ŚVETĀMBARA SPLIT
Buddha Prakash
The Jaina community is divied into the two main sects of the Digambaras and Svetāmbaras. Both of them respectively claim antiquity and originality for their own sects and depict each other as schismatics and dissenters. According to the Digambara tradition the Svetāmbaras came into existence when, in the hurly-burly of a famine in the North, the bulk of the monks, led by their pontiff Bhadrabāhu, migrated to the south and, taking advantage of their absence and feeling free from their control, those, who remained behind, became lax in conduct and loose in discipline and began to adopt such practices as wearing white clothes.1 Originally, according to this view, they clad themselves partially, being called ardhaphālakas, but later in 136 of Vikrama era or 80-81 A.D., at the instance of a king of Valabhīpura, Lokapāla, and his queen Candralekhā, they began to dress themselves fully and came to be known as Svetāmpațas or Svetāmbaras?. On the contrary, the Svetāmbaras claim to represent the original tradition and hold that the Digambaras came into being when, 609 years after the demise of Mahāvīra, which took place in 528 B.G. according to the traditional view), or in 82 A.D., one Sivabhūti of Rathavīrapura, being rebuked over the use of a shawl by his teacher Kapha (Krspa), tore it to pieces and became naked and started the sect of naked monks or Digambarast. The earliest enunciation of the Digambara tradition 1. Brhatkathakośa of Harisena, ed. A. N. Upadhye, Introduction, p. 118. 2. Darśanasära of Devasena, ed. Nathuram Premi, p. 60. 3. Muni Kalyāņavijaya, "Vira Nirvāņa Samvat aur Jaina Kālagañanā',
Nagari Pracāniņi Patrikå, Vol. X, No. 4, pp. 744-45. Vijayendra Sūrı
Tirthaikara Mahavira, Vol. II, pp. 319-324. 4. Muni Ratnaprabhavijaya, Šramaņa Bhagavān Mahavira, Vol. IV, p. 272.
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