Here is a simple, tradition‑based overview of how the Jain community split into Śvetāmbara and Digambara.

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1. In the beginning: One Jain saṅgh

• After Bhagwan Mahāvīr’s nirvāṇa (527 BCE – traditional Jain date), there was one united Jain saṅgh (community of monks, nuns, and śrāvaks).
• For some generations, all followed the same discipline and same line of ācāryas.

Over time, due to historical circumstances and differing views on conduct and scripture, the community slowly divided into two major traditions:

• Digambara – “sky‑clad” (naked monks)
• Śvetāmbara – “white‑clad” (white‑robed monks and nuns)

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2. Digambara traditional account of the schism

According to Digambara tradition:

1. Bhadrabāhu and the famine

- During the time of King Chandragupta Maurya (4th century BCE), ācārya Bhadrabāhu predicted a 12‑year famine in Magadha. - To protect the severe rules of monk conduct, Bhadrabāhu led a group of monks to South India (mainly Karnataka). - Another group of monks stayed back in North India under the leadership of Sthūlabhadra.

1. Difference in practice

- The southern group (with Bhadrabāhu) continued the original very strict conduct, including complete nudity for advanced monks. - The northern group (with Sthūlabhadra), living in difficult famine conditions and in contact with kings and towns, relaxed some rules, especially: - Allowed wearing a white cloth - Gradually became more flexible in certain external practices.

1. Return and disagreement

- After the famine ended, the two groups met again. - The southern (nude) group considered the white‑clad monks as having diluted the original discipline. - They also held that the original Āgams (Angas and Pūrvas) were eventually lost, so they did not accept the later written Śvetāmbara scriptures as fully authentic. - The southern, strict group came to be called Digambara, and they called their tradition the Mūla‑saṅgh (original saṅgh). - The northern, white‑clad group came to be known later as Śvetāmbara.

In this view, the main cause of the schism was:

• Strict vs. relaxed conduct, especially the issue of nudity and use of cloth, and later
• Disagreement about the survival and authenticity of the original scriptures.

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3. Śvetāmbara traditional account of the schism

According to Śvetāmbara tradition (e.g. Avashyaka‑bhāṣya and later texts):

1. Schism is later, not at Bhadrabāhu’s time

- They do not accept that the split started with Bhadrabāhu and the famine. - They say the full schism came much later, traditionally about 609 years after Mahāvīr’s nirvāṇa (around 1st–2nd century CE).

1. Story of Śivabhūti

- They tell of a monk Śivabhūti who, due to anger and wrong understanding of the scriptures, started going completely nude and teaching that such nudity was essential for all true monks. - His followers came to be known as Digambara (“sky‑clad”).

1. View on scriptures

- Śvetāmbara ācāryas held that: - The Āgams were preserved (though some parts were lost). - They were later written down at the council of Vallabhī (around 5th century CE). - They say the Digambaras rejected these preserved canonical texts and created their own śāstra‑tradition instead.

In this view, the main cause of the schism is:

• A new extreme insistence on nudity by Śivabhūti and his line,
• Along with rejection of the existing canonical tradition.

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4. When did the schism actually complete?

Both sects accept that:

• The separation was gradual, not overnight.
• By about 1st–5th century CE, the differences had become clear and two organized sects existed:

- Śvetāmbara: - White‑robed monks and nuns - Accept a canon of 11 Aṅgas (with the 12th, Dṛṣṭivāda, lost) - Believe most Āgams were preserved and written at Vallabhī.

- Digambara: - Monks practice nudity as highest ideal (nuns do not) - Hold that all original Āgams were lost - Take texts like Ṣaṭkhaṇḍāgama, Kaṣāya‑pāhuḍa etc. as very early and authoritative.

So, while dates and stories differ between Śvetāmbara and Digambara traditions, both agree that:

• The first cause was difference in ascetic conduct (especially clothing),
• Later joined by differences in view about scripture, women’s liberation, and some doctrinal details,
• And that the core Jain philosophy (tattvas like jīva, ajīva, karma, saṁvara, nirjarā, mokṣa, anekāntavāda, ahiṁsā, etc.) is basically the same in both.

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5. Essence to remember

• Both sects are Jain.
• The goal (mokṣa), the Tīrthaṅkaras, and the fundamental principles are the same.
• The schism is mainly about:

- External conduct rules (nudity vs. white cloth), - How and which scriptures were preserved, - A few important but limited doctrinal differences.

For a spiritual seeker, the key is to understand that both Digambara and Śvetāmbara are genuine Jain paths, born from historical situations and different views on how best to preserve Mahāvīr Bhagwan’s teachings.