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Jain community (jati),
In Jain context, “Jain community (jati)” usually means:
- Jati = social community, not a spiritual category
- Jain scriptures do not divide people into higher–lower castes for spiritual status. - For Jain Dharma, all souls are equal; progress depends on samyak darshan, gyan, charitra (right faith, knowledge, conduct), not birth.
- Examples of Jain jatis
Among lay Jains, especially in North and West India, you’ll hear jatis like: - Oswal, Shrimal, Porwal/Porwad, Agarwal (some are Jains), Khandelwal, Vania/Vaniya, Saitwal, etc. These groups may have their own customs, marriage circles, and local traditions, but all follow Jain Dharma.
- Relation with kul / gotra
- Jati – bigger social group (e.g. Oswal). - Kul / gotra – smaller lineage or clan within a jati (used for marriage rules, genealogy). ( jainknowledge.com)
- Digambar & Shvetambar view
- Both traditions clearly teach that caste or jati has no role in attaining moksha. - Jati, kul, gotra are treated as social identifiers only, not religious divisions like Digambar–Shvetambar, which are sect differences, not jatis.
You can read a simple explanation about Jain jati and caste here
