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16
Part I. Origin
and Non-life (Ajiva). His followers were called
Terasiyas. 7. Gotthamahila led the seventh division at Dashapura
in 584 Vir Nirvana. His followers were called Abaddhiyas. They believed Jiva was not bounded by karma.
None of these seven schisms have survived to the present time.
8. The eighth division split the Jaina community into the
two major sects: Digambers and Svetambers, so called because the Digamber (space-clad or sky-clad) monks go naked, while the Svetamber (white-clad) monks wear simple clothing, which still exist at the present time.
Exact time when this division took place is not known. During Lord Mahivir's time there were ascetics of both kinds nude and clothed. It was an option in the beginning and the separation probably took place gradually. The two distinct monastic traditions date back over 2300 years. Acharya Bhadrabahu was probably the last patriarch of the united ascetic community. According to one account the origin of the split may be traced to about 300 B.C. during the reign of Emperor Chandragupta Mauriya. Acharya Bhadrabahu predicted a terrible twelve-year famine in state of Magadh (modern Bihar in eastern India) and in face of this he led a large group of his monastic followers south to the region now known as Karnataka where they stayed for 12 years. Bhadrabahu passed away in South. His followers returned to Patliputra (Modern Patna). Here they found some of the monks who had stayed behind were no longer practicing nudity, which was unacceptable to them. This may have marked the beginning of the split in the Jaina ascetic community. In fact complete separation probably developed gradually over several centuries.
