Answer

Acharya Bhikshu Swami, also known as Bhikhanji or Bhikshu, separated because he felt that the conduct and religious practices he saw around him had moved away from strict Jain principles, especially the true path of ahimsa, renunciation, discipline, and purity of monkhood.

He separated from the Sthanakvasi Jain tradition. He had taken diksha under Acharya Raghunathji, a Sthanakvasi monk. Later, due to deep doctrinal and conduct-related differences, he left that group and established what came to be known as the Terapanth tradition.

Yes, there was strong opposition and criticism from many in the Jain community at that time. Reform movements often create tension, and Bhikshu Swami’s strict views challenged accepted customs and practices.

Explanation

Bhikshu Swami believed that:

• Jain monks should follow very strict discipline.
• Religious charity should be guided by right faith and right understanding.
• Compassion should not be confused with worldly attachment.
• Monks should avoid lax conduct and social dependency.
• The path of liberation requires purity of motive, self-restraint, and detachment.

His disagreements were not merely personal. They were based on his understanding of Jain doctrine and monk conduct.

He and a small number of followers separated from the existing Sthanakvasi group. According to Terapanth tradition, the name Terapanth is connected with the number 13. The word tera means “thirteen,” and it is traditionally associated with the early group of thirteen followers or principles connected with the founding of the sect.

There is also a devotional interpretation: Tera Panth can mean “Your path,” meaning the path dedicated to the Lord, not to personal ego.

Who supported him?

In the beginning, Bhikshu Swami was supported by a small group of monks, nuns, and lay followers who accepted his strict interpretation of Jain discipline.

The early Terapanth community grew around:

• Acharya Bhikshu Swami as the founding Acharya,
• strict centralized discipline under one Acharya,
• emphasis on obedience, restraint, and doctrinal clarity,
• a highly organized monastic order.

This structure became one of the defining features of Terapanth: one Acharya, one discipline, one unified order.

What does “Tera” and “Bara” mean?

In ordinary Hindi/Rajasthani usage:

• Tera means thirteen.
• Bara means twelve.

In another devotional meaning:

• Tera can mean “yours”, as in “O Lord, this is Your path.”
• Bara may be used in contrast to mean another group or count, but it is not the main name of Bhikshu Swami’s tradition.

Terapanth tradition especially remembers the meaning of “Tera Panth” as both “the path of thirteen” and spiritually as “the Lord’s path.”

Spiritual Understanding

Bhikshu Swami’s separation is understood within Terapanth as a movement for stricter purity in Jain conduct. His emphasis was that religion should not be based on social approval, convenience, or outward show, but on right faith, right knowledge, right conduct, restraint, and inner detachment.

Takeaway

Acharya Bhikshu Swami separated from the Sthanakvasi tradition under Acharya Raghunathji because of serious differences about Jain doctrine and monk conduct. His small reform group faced opposition, but later became the Terapanth tradition, known for strict discipline and centralized leadership under one Acharya.