Śvetāmbara
One of the two major schools of Jainism / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Śvetāmbara (/ʃwɛˈtʌmbərə/; also spelled Shwetambara, Shvetambara, Svetambara or Swetambar) is one of the two main branches of Jainism, the other being the Digambara. Śvetāmbara in Sanskrit means "white-clad", and refers to its ascetics' practice of wearing white clothes, which sets it apart from the Digambara or "sky-clad" Jains whose ascetic practitioners go nude. Śvetāmbaras do not believe that ascetics must practice nudity.[1]
This article is missing information about Śvetāmbara scriptures, literature, monastic and layperson practices, temples, monasteries, bhandaras, differences with Digambara. (December 2019) |
The Śvetāmbara and Digambara traditions have had historical differences ranging from their dress code, their temples and iconography, attitude towards Jain nuns, their legends and the texts they consider as important.[2][3][4] Śvetāmbara Jain communities are currently found mainly in Gujarat, Rajasthan and coastal regions of Maharashtra.[5][4] According to Jeffery D. Long, a scholar of Hindu and Jain studies, about four-fifths of all Jains in India are Śvetāmbaras.[6]