In Jainism, all sects accept the same basic truths – ahimsa, anekāntavād, karma, moksha, 24 Tirthankars, etc. The sects formed later in history because of differences in practice, discipline and interpretation of scriptures, not because of disagreement on core principles.

Below is a simple overview.

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1. How did Digambar and Shwetambar separation happen?

Historical background

• After Bhagwan Mahavir’s nirvāṇa (527 BCE, according to Jain tradition), his teachings were preserved orally by monks and nuns.
• A few centuries later, a long famine is mentioned in Jain tradition (often connected with Āchārya Bhadrabāhu and Chandragupta Maurya).
• Because of this:

- One group of monks went towards South India. - Another group remained in North/West India.

Over time, these two groups developed different ways of living and preserving the scriptures, which slowly hardened into two main sects:

• Digambar – “sky‑clad”, i.e. naked monks
• Shwetambar – “white‑clad”, i.e. monks and nuns wearing white clothes

The exact date and details of the split are told differently in Digambar and Shwetambar traditions, but both agree that:

• It happened several centuries after Mahavir,
• It grew gradually – not in a single day.

Main differences (very simply)

These are outer and doctrinal differences, not differences in the basic path:

Digambar:

• Monks practice complete nudity (no possession, even of clothes).
• Believe that a woman must take birth as a man to attain final liberation.
• Jain scriptures they follow are mainly texts like Āchārya Kundkund’s works, etc. The old Āgams are considered lost.

Shwetambar:

• Monks and nuns wear simple white clothes.
• Accept that women can attain liberation directly.
• Have a preserved Āgam canon (11 Angs etc., especially after the council at Valabhi around 5th–6th century CE, according to tradition).

Despite these, both:

• Worship the same Tirthankars,
• Accept the same five great vows (mahāvratas),
• Aim for the same moksha.

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2. How did Sthanakvasi form within Shwetambar?

Within Shwetambar itself, later reform movements arose.

Origin of Sthanakvasi

• Around the 15th century CE, a reform-minded group questioned:

- The rituals around idols, - The way temple worship was being done, - The discipline of some monks.

• From earlier reformers (like the Lonka tradition), finally a distinct group emerged called Sthanakvasi.

“Sthānak” means a simple hall / place, so:

• They do not build or use idol temples.
• They pray, do samayik, pratikraman, lectures, etc. in simple halls called sthanak or upāshray.
• They consider internal purity, meditation, right conduct more important than external idol‑worship.

So:

• Shwetambar Murti‑Pujak – Shwetambar who worship idols in temples.
• Shwetambar Sthanakvasi – Shwetambar who do not worship idols and use simple halls instead.

You can read a simple explanation of Shwetambar Sthanakvasi here:

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3. Why did these sects arise at all?

In short, because of practical issues over time, not because Mahavir taught different paths:

1. Geography and history

- Groups moving to different regions (North–South, etc.) developed different habits and rules.

1. Preservation of scriptures

- When teachings are preserved orally over centuries, different lineages remember and record them differently.

1. Lifestyle and discipline debates

- How strict should monks be? - Is nudity essential, or is white cloth allowed? - How should worship be done – with idols, or without idols? These questions created groups with different answers.

1. Reform movements

- When some Jains felt practices had become too ritualistic or not strict enough, they started reform sects (like Sthanakvasi) to return, in their view, to Mahavir’s original simplicity.

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4. Essence to remember

• Mahavir’s path is one – all Jain sects accept this.
• Sects are mainly about outer form (clothes, idols, texts used, monastic rules).
• The inner goal is the same:

- Samyak dārshan (right faith) - Samyak jnān (right knowledge) - Samyak chāritra (right conduct) leading to moksha.

So Digambar, Shwetambar, Sthanakvasi, Terapanthi, etc. are like different branches of the same tree of Jain Dharma.