subsects of digambar jains
Answer
The main subsects of Digambar Jains are:
- Bisapanthi
- Terapanthi
- Taran Panth / Samaiya Panth
Explanation
1. Bisapanthi
Bisapanthi Digambars generally follow temple worship with rituals, offerings, and devotional practices before the images of Tirthankars.
2. Terapanthi
Digambar Terapanthis emphasize a more simplified form of worship. They generally avoid certain ritual offerings and focus strongly on inner devotion, purity, and scriptural discipline.
3. Taran Panth / Samaiya Panth
This tradition was founded by Taran Swami. It places great emphasis on spiritual knowledge, meditation, and study of scriptures. Taran Panthis do not practice image worship in the same way as temple-worshipping Digambars.
Spiritual Understanding
Although these subsects differ in certain practices and rituals, they all belong to the Digambar Jain tradition and share core Jain principles such as:
- Ahimsa
- Aparigraha
- Self-discipline
- Karma theory
- Liberation of the soul
- Reverence for the Tirthankars
Takeaway
The major Digambar Jain subsects are Bisapanthi, Terapanthi, and Taran Panth. Their differences are mainly in worship practices, rituals, and devotional emphasis, while their fundamental Jain philosophy remains the same.