• Terapanthi lineage means “the path of thirteen” or “your path” in Jain tradition. It began as a reform movement within Jainism in Rajasthan in the 18th century.

• Śvetāmbara Terapantha: Founded by Muni Bhikhan (who became Ācārya Bhikṣu) in Vikram Samvat 1817 (roughly 1760 CE). He split from the then-current leadership of the Sthānaka-vāsīn tradition under Acharya Raghunathji and formed a new order that emphasizes a single ācārya as the spiritual head, strict discipline, and the well-known thirteen-principles (the five mahāvratas, the five samitis, and the three guptis). This is the origin of the Śvetāmbara Terapantha. A key story explains the name: thirteen monks and thirteen lay followers were witnessed, and a poet exclaimed “terā panth,” which was then interpreted by Bhikṣu Bhikhan as “your path” or as “the path of thirteen.” This established the Terapantha as a distinct Śvetāmbara reform group. (In later years, Terapantha philosophy also developed with emphasis on maryādā and meditation under leaders like Mahāprajña and Tulsi.)

• Digambara Terapantha: A parallel reform current within Digambara Jainism also arose, tracing its origins to Muni Bhikhan (Ācārya Bhikṣu) and his circle in the 18th–early 19th century. Like the Śvetāmbara Terapantha, it emphasized reform of monastic conduct and a structured, disciplined order, though it developed along Digambara lines.

• Core ideas shared: both traditions reject idol worship in favor of strict ascetic discipline, self-control, and inner spiritual cultivation. They emphasize separating from lax practices, following a clear code of conduct, and pursuing deeper insight (prekṣā-dhyāna) and renunciation.

• Important note: there are two main strands called Terapantha today—Śvetāmbara Terapantha and Digambara Terapantha—each rooted in Bhikhan’s reform impulse but continuing within its own traditional framework. The basic story of the “thirteen” origin and the emphasis on a single guiding ācārya are common threads.

If you’d like, I can share a brief, clean summary in a question-and-answer format or provide a short timeline with exact dates as commonly cited by Jain historians.