The Sthanakvasi Sect of Jainism

Jainism has two big branches and several sub-sects. Exams often ask you to place one sect in the right branch. Start with the map, then fix the three Svetambara sub-sects.

1. What is the Sthanakvasi sect?

The Sthanakvasi sect is a sub-sect of the Svetambara branch of Jainism. Its followers do not worship idols. They have no temples. They pray in halls called sthanakas.

Today most of them simply call themselves Svetambara Sthanakvasi. Except on idol worship, they differ little from other Svetambaras.

The sect is also called Dhundhiya, which means “searchers”. Another name is Sadhumargi, which means “followers of the ascetics”.

Scholars at SOAS call the Sthanakvasi and Terapanth traditions “aniconic”. That word means “without images”. Both branched off the older Lonkagaccha in the 17th and 18th centuries.

2. How are the Jain sects arranged?

Jains are divided into two major sects. The Digambara are the “sky-clad”. The Svetambara are the “white-clad”. Each sect has sub-groups.

The two sects agree on the basics. They disagree on five things. These are the life of Mahavira, the status of women, whether monks wear clothes, rituals, and which texts are scripture.

Jainworld lists three Svetambara sub-sects. They are the Murtipujaka, the Sthanakvasi and the Terapanthi. It lists three major Digambara sub-sects. They are Bisapantha, Terapantha and Taranapantha. Gumanapantha and Totapantha are minor.

3. How is a Sthanakvasi different from a Murtipujaka or a Terapanthi?

All three are Svetambara. They split on idols, mouth-cloth, scripture and leadership.

Jainworld says the Terapanthi muhapatti differs from the Sthanakvasi one in length. Both are non-idolatrous.

The story runs in two steps. First came Lonka Shah in the 15th century. Then came a stricter reform among his followers in the 17th century.

4. Who was Lonka Shah, and what did he argue?

Lonka was a 15th-century lay reformer from Ahmedabad. He was skilled at copying manuscripts. A monk asked him to copy old Agama texts, and he studied them as he wrote.

The International School for Jain Studies says he first preached his views in Vikram Samvat 1508 (1451 CE). Jainworld dates the Lonka sect to about 1474. The two dates may mark different events. Accounts of his life do not agree.

Lonka wrote in medieval Gujarati. He listed 58 points that quoted scripture. He added 54 points that attacked common practices. For each practice he asked, “Where is this written?”

He argued that scripture does not ask for temple building or idol worship. Sthanakvasis honour him with a commemoration day.

5. Who founded the Sthanakvasi sub-sect: Lavji, Dharmadas or Dharmasingh?

Tradition names Lavji, a Gujarati merchant, as the founder. Jainworld dates the Sthanakvasi sect to about 1653. It also names a layman, Viraji of Surat. So names differ between sources.

ISJS lists Lavji, Dharmadas and Dharmasingh as three munis who left the Lonka sect. Another account in ISJS puts Dharmadas three steps after Lavji. Dharmasingh is described by IndiaNetzone as a merchant who broke away with Lavji.

The complaint was loose conduct among the Lonka ascetics. Lavji advised a return to the strict model in the Dashavaikalika text. That model did not include image worship.

6. What does "sthanak" mean, and why were they called Dhundhiya?

A sthanak is a plain hall or lodging used for prayer, fasting, talks and festivals. The sect’s name means “those who live in sthanaks”.

The early monks stayed in ruined, empty buildings instead of the upashrayas built beside temples. The word Dhundhiya is linked to dhunda, a broken house. One account says this about Lavji.

Jainworld adds that Sthanakvasis do not have faith in pilgrimage places. They also do not join Murtipujaka festivals.

7. How did the Terapanth come out of the Sthanakvasi sect?

Bhikshu began as a Sthanakvasi monk. His guru was Acharya Raghunath. Bhikshu differed with his guru on the conduct of Sthanakvasi ascetics. The two parted ways.

He founded the Terapanth in Vikram Samvat 1817, which is 1760 CE. The name is said to come from 13 vows and rules, or from 13 monks and 13 laymen.

This is why the Terapanth is called a daughter sect of the Sthanakvasi sect. Both reject idols.

Their core idea is simple. Purify the soul through scripture, meditation and strict conduct. Do not rely on images.

8. Which scriptures do they accept?

Sthanakvasis accept 32 Agamas. The Murtipujaka accept 45, or 84 in some counts. The Terapanthis also accept 32.

Sthanakvasis hold that idol worship is not found in the Agamas.

Digambaras hold that the original Agamas were lost. They use later works by acharyas such as Kundakunda and Pushpadanta instead.

Counts can differ by author. One older Jainworld text gives 31 for Sthanakvasis. Most sources give 32.

9. Why do monks and nuns wear the muhpatti?

The muhpatti is a strip of white cloth tied across the mouth. It stays tied behind the ears.

Its purpose is ahimsa. It reduces harm to air-bodies and tiny insects through breath and speech. It is also a sign of the ascetic’s dedication to non-violence.

IndiaNetzone credits Lavji with introducing it for monks. Sthanakvasi and Terapanthi ascetics wear it all the time.

Murtipujaka monks tie it, or hold it in the hand, at times of worship or when speaking.

10. What rules do Sthanakvasi monks and nuns follow?

All Jain ascetics follow the five great vows. These are non-violence, truth, non-stealing, chastity and non-possession.

They also keep rules on walking, speaking and eating with care. They avoid harming small living beings.

In the monsoon, they stop travelling. This stay is called chaturmas. A Hindi news report of 27 July 2026 says it starts on 29 July 2026. It says ascetics stay within about 10 km of the town.

Sthanakvasi monks and nuns wear only white.

11. What do lay Sthanakvasis do: samayika, fasting and Paryushan?

Laypeople take part in talks by monks and nuns. They also practise samayika.

Samayika means staying calm for 48 minutes. In that time a person may meditate, repent, chant or take vows.

Fasting is common during Paryushan. Some Jains fast for eight days. Boiled water is the only drink.

Samvatsari is the last day of Paryushan. In 2011, Ahmedabad Sthanakvasis kept it on a Thursday. Derawasi Jains kept it on the Friday.

Census figures are given for Jains as a whole. The sources below give no separate Sthanakvasi headcount. What we can say comes from the Census totals and from Jain organisations.

12. Who leads the Sthanakvasis: the Acharyas and the Shraman Sangh?

The Shraman Sangh is the biggest Sthanakvasi body. It formed when several small Sthanakvasi groups joined together about 60 years before 2008.

Ahimsa Times of January 2008 lists its Acharyas in order. They are Atma Ram, Anand Rishi, Devendra Muni and Dr Shiv Muni. It said the Sangh had over 1500 saints.

About five years before that report, a group of saints broke away over controversy. The January 2008 report says the groups agreed to work together. Umesh Muni became “Ganadheesh” and Dr Shiv Muni stayed Acharya.

Dr Shiv Muni was named Yuvacharya at the Pune Sadhu Sammelan in 1986. He became Acharya in 1999, after Devendra Muni died of a sudden heart attack in Mumbai.

Ahimsa Times of November 2010 calls him the fourth Acharya. It said a saints’ congregation would meet in 2011. The last one had been held at Pune in 1987.

13. How many Jains are there, and where do they live?

Census 2011 counted 4,451,753 Jains. That is about 0.4 per cent of India’s people. Their decadal growth from 2001 to 2011 was 5.4 per cent.

Five states hold most of them. Maharashtra has 1,400,349. Rajasthan has 622,023. Gujarat has 579,654. Madhya Pradesh has 567,028. Karnataka has 440,280.

Jainworld says Sthanakvasis are found mainly in Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. Shraman Sangh leaders in 2010 came from Pali, Mumbai, Nashik, Bengaluru, Arkonam and Delhi.

14. What happened in 2026, and which Jain policy items matter for exams?

On 22 April 2026, Acharya Chandana, founder of Veerayatan, died. Reports differ on her age. She was described as the first female acharya in Jain history. Her last rites had full state honours.

A 27 July 2026 report said Chaturmas would begin on 29 July. Free Press Journal and Brisbane Jain Sangh give 8 to 15 September 2026, with Samvatsari on 15 September. Sthanakvasi and other Jain groups can keep Samvatsari on different days.

Three older policy items often appear in exams. On 3 October 2024 the Union Cabinet gave classical language status to Prakrit. Jain foundational texts were written in Prakrit languages. The Cabinet cleared minority status for Jains on 20 January 2014, and it was notified on 27 January 2014. On 31 August 2015 the Supreme Court stayed the Rajasthan High Court ban on santhara.

Questions rarely go deep. They test one or two facts. The usual trap is a wrong branch, a wrong founder or a mixed-up sect name.

15. What traps do sect questions use?

A question may ask which religion the Sthanakvasi sect belongs to. The answer is Jainism. The next step is to place it in the Svetambara branch.

Common traps are these.

• Sthanakvasi is not Digambara. It is Svetambara.
• Terapanth exists in both branches. The Digambara Terapanth uses idols. The Svetambara Terapanth rejects them.
• Taranapantha is a Digambara sect that rejects idols. Do not mix it with Sthanakvasi.
• Lonka came first, in the 15th century. Lavji came later, in the 17th.
• The Shraman Sangh’s first Acharya, Atma Ram, led a body formed about 60 years before 2008. Muni Atmaramji, invited to the 1893 Parliament of Religions in Chicago, belongs to an earlier era. Do not treat them as one person.
• Kanji Swami was a Sthanakvasi by birth. He later became a leading voice for Digambara texts.

16. What is a one-glance pair table for revision?

Learn each sect with its branch, one defining fact and one date.

Add a current hook. One news report expected Chaturmas to begin in late July 2026. Two sources give Samvatsari as 15 September 2026.