Jainism Schools

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• There are two main schools or sects, of Jainism: Digambara and Svetambara. Each of these schools or sects can be further subdivided into differ sub-sects and traditions.
  
  
• The original split between the sects dates back approximately 2,400 years. The split arose because the original doctrine of Jainism was contained in scriptures called Purva (of which there were 14), but these were being lost - 11 scriptures called Angas were compiled, and the remnants of the 14 Purva were put into the 12th Anga - however there was a dispute about the authenticity of the Anga.
  
  
• Although there are some differences between the sects, the underlying core philosophy and main principles are the same in both sects.
  
  
• Some of the differences between the sects are shown in this table:
  
  

  Digambara	Svetambara
  Reject the Jain Agama compiled by Sthulabhadra	Accept the Jain Agama
  Believe Mahavira remained unmarried	Believe Mahavira married and had a daughter
  	Believe that the 19th Tirthankara, Mallinath, was a woman
  Full monastic life restricted to males Male monks do not wear clothes Female renunciates (Aryikas) wear white	Women given full status Monastics wear white seamless clothes Monastics include males (munis) and females (sadhvi)
  	Some monastics cover their mouth with a white cloth (muhapatti) even when they talk (to minimize possibility of inhaling small organisms)