The Svetambara and the Digambara Images of the Jinas
Summary
The article examines the sectarian differentiation in the iconography of the Jinas between the Svetambara and Digambara traditions, arguing that the division in the images of the Jinas took place long after the great schism in the Jaina community. The author notes that the schism itself was due to a variety of causes operating for a long period of time. The text references the Uttaradhyayana, a Svetambara text, where a Sramana named Kesi asks Indrabhuti (Gautama) about the law forbidding clothes for a monk, indicating that the distinction between naked and clothed monks is as old as the time of Mahavira. However, this distinction did not lead to a serious schism until nearly six hundred years later. The Svetambara story of the rise of the Digambara sect is told in the Avassakanijjutti by Bhadrabahu, in the Pravacana-partksa or Kupaksa-kausikasahasrakirana by Dharmasagara, in the commentary on the Kalpasutra by Samayasundaropadhyaya, and in other works. These authorities agree that the Botika or Digambara order was started 609 years after the nirvana of Mahavira or in 82 A.D. by Sivabhuti at Rathavirapura. A Digambara writer named Devasena states in his Darsfanasara that the Svetambara order was started by Jinacandra at Valabhi in Saurashtra 136 years after the death of King Vikrama, that is to say, in A.D. 79. The article also discusses the earliest known images of the Tirthankaras found at Mathura, bearing votive inscriptions from the Kushan period, which are naked and show the male organ, suggesting that in the Kushan period the Svetambaras or their precursors were also naked.
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Conclusion
The study demonstrates that the sectarian differentiation in the images of the Jinas, specifically the naked Digambara and draped Svetambara forms, occurred long after the initial schism in the Jaina community. While the textual distinction between naked and clothed monks dates back to the era of Mahavira, the actual schism emerged nearly six centuries later, driven by a complex interplay of factors such as a severe famine, subsequent migration, and evolving monastic practices. The analysis of historical lists and traditions reveals that the separation solidified gradually over centuries rather than instantaneously. Crucially, the divergence in the iconographic representation of the Jinas was not a primary cause of the schism itself but a later reflection of the established doctrinal and disciplinary differences between the two sects. This finding underscores the dynamic evolution of religious traditions, where material culture and iconography often lag behind and subsequently codify theological divisions.