Digambara

Digambara (Sanskrit: दिगम्बरः, ; "sky-clad") is one of the two major schools of Jainism, the other being Śvetāmbara (white-clad). The Sanskrit word Digambara means "sky-clad", referring to their traditional monastic practice of neither possessing nor wearing any clothes. Mahavira emphasised the importance of nakedness for monks, teaching that it symbolised complete detachment and was an ideal form of conduct. Mahavira believed that renouncing clothes made the body immune to external influences like heat and cold, increasing resilience. Without clothes, a monk would avoid the distractions of acquiring, maintaining, and washing garments, allowing him to focus on spiritual growth and self-discipline.

Digambara and Śvetāmbara traditions have had historical differences ranging from their dress code, their temples and iconography, attitude towards female monastics, their legends, and the texts they consider as important. Digambaras maintain that women cannot attain nirvana. However, Śvetāmbaras differ and maintain that women as well as eunuchs can attain nirvana, having more inclusivity.

Digambara monks believe in the virtue of non-attachment and non-possession of any material goods. Monks carry a community-owned picchi, which is a broom made of fallen peacock feathers for removing and thus saving the life of insects in their path or before they sit.

The Digambara literature can be traced only to the first millennium, with its oldest surviving sacred text being the mid-second century Ṣaṭkhaṅḍāgama ("Scripture in Six Parts") of Dharasena (the Moodabidri manuscripts). One of the most important scholar-monks of the Digambara tradition was Kundakunda.

Digambara Jain communities are currently found in most parts of India like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.