Here is a simple, Jain-centered overview.

• Sects (traditions) in Jainism

- Digambara (Sky-clothed): Traditionally emphasize asceticism, renunciation, and monastic attire that includes no clothes for monks. They focus on the ideal of keval jnana attained through strict ascetic practice. - Śvetāmbara (White-clothed): Traditionally allow monks to wear white robes and place emphasis on the Suhṛttik (monastic) and lay practices in a different historical development. They have their own foundational texts and ritually different practices.

• Sub-sects and lineages (gaccha/sampradaya)

- Both Digambara and Śvetāmbara communities have multiple lineages or orders called gacchas or sampradāyas. These are families or cohorts within a tradition that maintain particular monastic rules, interpretive emphases, and devotional practices. They arise from differences in lineage, teachers, monastic founders, and regional influences. - A gaccha typically preserves a specific set of practices, codes of conduct for monks and nuns, ritual procedures, and mnemonic/scholarly traditions. Over time, new gacchas can form around charismatic teachers or reform movements, while older ones may adapt to local cultures.

• How they relate to Digambara

- Within the Digambara tradition, the most visible distinctions are devotional and monastic-practice related rather than purely doctrinal. There are several well-known lineages and reform movements that have emerged within Digambara over the centuries. Each lineage tends to have its own preferred teachers, monasteries, and interpretive emphasis, but they all share core Digambar principles: non-attachment, strict monastic discipline, reverence for Tirthankaras, and the Jain ethical code. - The term gaccha in Digambara usage often points to a traditional chain of monastic succession or a particular monastic-community affiliation. In practice, this means different Digambara monasteries or orders may follow slightly different practices or liturgical norms while remaining within the broader Digambara framework.

• Key notes for understanding

- The words sect, sub-sect, gaccha, and sampradaya point to degrees of organizational and ritual difference, not to opposing the fundamental Jain path. All traditional Jain paths honor non-violence (ahimsa), truth (satya), non-stealing (asteya), celibacy (brahmacharya), and non-possessiveness (aparigraha), though they may emphasize different practices or interpretations. - There can be differences in ritual forms, iconography, and temple customs between lineages, but their ultimate spiritual aim remains the same: liberation (moksha) through right knowledge, right faith, and right conduct.

If you’d like, I can give a concise, lineage-by-lineage outline (with the main Digambara and Śvetāmbara gacchas/sampradāyas and their distinctive practices) in a follow-up. I can also provide crisp, text-only summaries of each major lineage’s beliefs and practices as taught in Jain scriptures.