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historical figure, since his followers, known as Niganthas, aré mentioned in the Buddhist Tripitaka. Mahavira, the last Tirthankara and the supreme teacher of the present day Jainas (599-527) BCE), flourished in the tradition of Parshva and was a contemporary of Gautama the Buddha.
According to the canonical texts of the Jainas, their community at the time of Mahavira was comprised of lay votaries and mendicants, with as many as 14,000 monks (sadhus) and 36,000 nuns (sadhvis). Around 300 BCE the once unified Jaina monastic community was split into two major sects known as Digambara and Shvetambara. The Digambara (Sky-clad) monks claimed that total renunciation of clothing - as practised by Mahavira himself – was a prerequisite for being a Jaina monk and therefore adhered to the practice of nudity. The Shvetambaras (White-clad) maintained that nudity was forbidden to the members of the ecclesiastical community and adopted the practice of wearing white (cotton) garments. The two mendicant sects eventually rejected each other as being apostates from the true path, compiled their own scriptures, and ceased to perform their common rituals, such as confession, together. The lay followers called shravakas (hearers of the law), of these two sects also formed their own social groups. They are distinguished mainly by the images of the Tirthankaras that they worship; the Digambara images are naked, while the Shvetambara images are decorated with ornaments of gold and silver. In the sixteenth century, moreover, there arose within the Shvetambara community a reformist movement (Sthanakavasi) that condemned the worship of images. Thus, in spite of a basic agreement about the fundamental teachings of the Jina, there have been sectarian differences regarding the manner in which the Jaina festivals are celebrated.
Notwithstanding these sectarian differences the Jainas have been able to preserve their separateness from the Hindus, primarily because of their sizable monastic community. According to the most recent count it includes about two thousand monks and five thousand nuns, who form the most important element in supervising the major Jaina festivals. During the course of more than two thousand years of close contact with the Hindus, especially the merchant castes, the Jaina lay people have adopted many of the Hindu social customs, such as the caste system; and participate in Hindu festivals such as Vijaya-dashami (Dassehra) and Divali, which have become Indian national holidays. But the major Jaina festivals are observed exclusively by the Jainas, since they are celebrations of the holy careers of the Tirthankaras and of ascetic practices that emphasise non-possession (aparigrala) and non-violence (aliimsa), the two most important features of the Jaina teachings.
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