Clergy and religious life
Monks, nuns and laity in Jainism
Jainism has no priesthood that mediates between people and the divine. Its ideal is the liberation of the soul through non-violence, self-discipline and knowledge, shown by the twenty-four Tirthankaras, the last of whom, Mahavira, lived in the sixth or fifth century BCE. The Jain community is described as a fourfold sangha: monks (sadhus), nuns (sadhvis), laymen (shravakas) and laywomen (shravikas). Mendicants take five great vows and live without home or possessions, depending on the laity for food and shelter; the laity support them, keep lesser vows and maintain the temples. Jainism has two main traditions. Svetambara, white-clad, monks and nuns wear simple white robes, while Digambara, sky-clad, monks renounce clothing altogether. The figures shown here belong to the Svetambara tradition. Each order is led by its own acharya, and there is no single head of all Jains.
- Leading the orders
- Monks and nuns
- The laity
Orders and states of life
Leading the orders
Mendicants are organised in orders and lineages (gacchas, sanghas), each led by an acharya, sometimes assisted by an upadhyaya, a teacher of the scriptures. Acharya, upadhyaya and sadhu are three of the five supreme beings (pancha parameshthi) honoured in the Namokar Mantra, the central Jain prayer, alongside the liberated Arihants and Siddhas.
Monks and nuns
At initiation (diksha) a mendicant takes the five great vows (mahavratas): non-violence (ahimsa), truthfulness, not stealing, celibacy and non-possession. Mendicants walk barefoot from place to place, never using vehicles, and stay in one place only for the four months of the rainy season (chaturmas), when insects and small creatures are most numerous.
The laity
Laymen and laywomen keep smaller vows (anuvratas) adapted to household life, offer alms to mendicants, fast, especially during the festival of Paryushan, and build and maintain temples. In the image-worshipping traditions they perform the worship of the Tirthankara images themselves, so that temple puja is chiefly a lay practice rather than a priestly one.
Leading the orders
Acharya
acharya (Sanskrit/Prakrit, आचार्य); suri in some Svetambara lineages
Addressed as Acharya Shri, followed by the monastic name; *Gurudev* or *Acharya Bhagwant*
The acharya is the head of a mendicant order or lineage. He initiates new monks and nuns, assigns them to groups and places for the rainy season, interprets the rules of conduct and settles disputes. A monk is raised to the rank in a ceremony of installation (padabhishek), usually after decades of study. Orders differ in structure: the Svetambara Terapanth, founded in 1760, is led by a single acharya who names his successor, while the image-worshipping Svetambara lineages have many acharyas at once. Some orders also recognise senior nuns as leaders of the nuns’ community.
What the figure wears
- White robes cholapattaka (lower cloth) and upper cloth
Unstitched lengths of plain white cloth, one wrapped as a lower garment and another draped over the shoulders, the same simple robes worn by every Svetambara mendicant.
- Mouth cloth muhpatti (मुँहपत्ती)
A small rectangle of white cloth before the mouth, which guards tiny living beings in the air from the breath and keeps saliva from touching scripture.
- Woollen whisk rajoharana (रजोहरण) / ogho
A whisk of soft woollen threads on a short cloth-wrapped handle, carried under the arm and used to brush insects gently aside before sitting or walking.
- Staff danda (दण्ड)
A tall plain wooden staff, carried when walking by mendicants of the image-worshipping Svetambara orders.
- Outside services
- An acharya wears the same white robes as any mendicant and keeps the same vows, walking barefoot, eating only food given as alms and owning nothing beyond the few permitted articles.
- Insignia
- No special robe or crown; rank is shown by title, by a raised seat when teaching, and by the deference of the order.
Monks and nuns
Muni (monk)
muni (मुनि); sadhu (साधु)
Addressed as Muni Shri or Maharaj Saheb, followed by the monastic name
A muni or sadhu is a Jain monk who has taken the five great vows for life. His day is given to study of the scriptures, meditation, confession and repentance of faults (pratikramana) morning and evening, and teaching the laity. He eats only food offered to him, collecting a little from several households on an alms round (gochari), so that no meal is prepared especially for him. Hair is not cut but removed by plucking (keshlochan) at intervals, an act of endurance and detachment.
What the figure wears
- White robes cholapattaka (lower cloth) and upper cloth
Plain unstitched white cloths wrapped as lower and upper garments; white stands for purity and renunciation and gives the Svetambara tradition its name.
- Mouth cloth muhpatti (मुँहपत्ती)
A white cloth before the mouth; Sthanakvasi and Terapanthi mendicants wear it tied over the mouth, while image-worshipping orders hold it before the mouth when speaking.
- Woollen whisk rajoharana (रजोहरण) / ogho
A soft woollen whisk received at initiation, used to sweep the ground before sitting or lying down so that no small creature is harmed.
- Alms bowl patra (पात्र), in a cloth jholi
A wooden bowl, carried wrapped in cloth, into which householders place food on the alms round; mendicants own a small set of such bowls.
- Outside services
- Robes, mouth cloth and whisk are worn and carried at all times. Monks travel on foot in small groups, staying in halls (*upashraya*) built by the laity.
- Insignia
- The rajoharana, given at initiation, is the essential sign of the mendicant and is kept within reach day and night.
Monks and nuns
Sadhvi (nun)
sadhvi (साध्वी); aryika (Digambara)
Addressed as Sadhvi Shri or Maharaj Saheb; *Mahasati-ji* in Sthanakvasi orders
Sadhvis take the same five great vows as monks and follow the same mendicant life of wandering, alms and study. In the Svetambara orders nuns substantially outnumber monks, by more than three to one in surveys from around 2000, while Digambara nuns are fewer than monks. Nuns usually live and travel in groups under a senior nun, and they teach and preach, especially to laywomen. Svetambara tradition holds that women can attain liberation and counts one Tirthankara, Mallinatha, as a woman, a view Digambaras do not share.
What the figure wears
- White robes sadi / chadar
Plain white unstitched cloths wrapped around the body, with an upper cloth drawn over the head and shoulders, leaving only the face visible.
- Mouth cloth muhpatti (मुँहपत्ती)
A small white cloth before the mouth, protecting minute beings in the air from the breath, a direct expression of the vow of non-violence.
- Woollen whisk rajoharana (रजोहरण) / ogho
The same soft woollen whisk as monks carry, used to clear the ground gently of insects before sitting, standing or walking.
- Small book
A small book of scripture or commentary, one of the few possessions permitted to a mendicant, held for study and for teaching the laity.
- Outside services
- Nuns wear their robes at all times and keep a daily round of study, meditation and confession, receiving visitors in halls set aside for women mendicants.
- Insignia
- The rajoharana and white robes, as for monks; seniority is reckoned by years since initiation.
The laity
Shravaka (lay worshipper)
shravaka (श्रावक), feminine shravika (श्राविका)
Addressed as No formal style
Shravakas and shravikas are lay Jains, the householders who form the larger part of the fourfold sangha. In the image-worshipping Svetambara and Digambara traditions they perform puja in the temple themselves, after bathing and changing into clean unstitched clothes. The eightfold worship (ashtaprakari puja) offers water, sandalwood paste, flowers, incense, a lamp, rice, sweets and fruit to the image of a Tirthankara, as a means of inner purification. The Sthanakvasi and Terapanthi traditions do not worship images and emphasise meditation and devotion to mendicants.
What the figure wears
- Puja dhoti dhoti (धोती)
A white unstitched cloth wrapped around the waist and legs, kept for temple worship and put on only after bathing.
- Upper cloth khes / uttariya
A white unstitched cloth draped over the shoulders, worn with the dhoti; women worshippers wear a sari kept for puja.
- Mouth cloth mukhkosh (मुखकोश)
A cloth folded several times and tied over the mouth and nose during puja, so that the worshipper’s breath does not touch the sacred image.
- Puja tray thali (थाली)
A silver tray holding offerings, here grains of uncooked rice and a small lamp; worshippers arrange the rice before the image in auspicious patterns.
- Outside services
- Outside the temple lay Jains wear ordinary clothes. Many keep daily vows such as eating before sunset, avoiding root vegetables and practising meditation (*samayika*).
- Insignia
- None; lay worshippers are marked only by the clean puja dress, which leaves no distinction of wealth or status.
Questions people ask
Why do Jain monks and nuns cover their mouths?
Jains hold that living beings exist everywhere, including minute beings in the air. The mouth cloth, the muhpatti, prevents the warm breath and speech from harming them and keeps saliva from falling on scripture, both expressions of ahimsa, non-violence. Practice differs between traditions: Sthanakvasi and Terapanthi mendicants wear it tied over the mouth at all times, while image-worshipping Svetambara mendicants hold it before the mouth when speaking. Lay worshippers tie a similar cloth during temple puja.
What is the rajoharana for?
The rajoharana, also called the ogho, is a whisk of soft woollen threads that Svetambara mendicants receive at initiation and carry at all times. Before sitting, lying down or placing an object, they brush the spot gently to move aside insects and other small creatures, so as not to crush them. It is the chief emblem of the mendicant life. Digambara mendicants carry a whisk of naturally shed peacock feathers, the *pichhi*, for the same purpose.
Why do Digambara monks wear no clothes?
Digambara, meaning sky-clad, monks hold that complete renunciation requires giving up every possession, including clothing, which they regard as a source of attachment, shame and possible harm to small creatures. Nudity is taken only by fully initiated monks after long preparation, and is understood as a sign of ascetic detachment, not of display. Digambara nuns (*aryikas*) wear a white sari, and junior male renunciants wear one or a few white cloths.
What are the main differences between Svetambara and Digambara?
The two traditions separated gradually in the early centuries CE. Besides monastic dress, they differ on scripture: Svetambaras accept a canon of texts called the Agamas, while Digambaras hold that the original canon was lost. Digambaras teach that a soul must be reborn as a man to attain liberation, while Svetambaras hold that women can attain it directly. They also tell parts of Mahavira's life differently. Both share the same core teachings on the soul, karma and non-violence.
Are there more Jain nuns than monks?
In the Svetambara traditions, yes. Surveys compiled around 1999 counted roughly four nuns to every monk across the main Svetambara orders, with the ratio highest among the Sthanakvasis. Scholars link this to the respected path that renunciation offers women and to the strong religious role of laywomen. The figures are self-reported and approximate. Among Digambaras the pattern is reversed, with fewer nuns than monks.
Sources and further reading
- The Jains – Paul Dundas (Routledge, 2nd ed., 2002)
- The Jaina Path of Purification – Padmanabh S. Jaini (University of California Press, 1979)
- Jains in the World: Religious Values and Ideology in India – John E. Cort (Oxford University Press, 2001)
- Guardians of the Transcendent: An Ethnography of a Jain Ascetic Community – Anne Vallely (University of Toronto Press, 2002)
- Jainism: An Introduction – Jeffery D. Long (I.B. Tauris, 2009)