Sthānakavāsī

Some Sthanakvasi monks from Gujarat.

Sthānakavāsī is a sect of Śvetāmbara Jainism which was created in the medieval era as a result of a misinterpretation of the Śvetāmbara canon. The Sthanakvasi, whose name refers to the sect’s preference for performing religious duties at a secular place such as a monks’ meeting house (sthanak) rather than at a temple, is different from the Murtipujaka sect in that it rejects idolatry. It believes that idol worship is not essential in the path of soul purification and attainment of Nirvana/Moksha. Sthānakavāsī accept thirty-two of the Jain Agamas, the Śvetāmbara canon, contending that the scriptures make no mention of idol worship and temples. However, since the original texts of the ancient Ardhamagadhi canon contain numerous references to idolatry in the past, they have, over time, also modified the 32 texts they accept, to establish their view.

In the 15th century, Loṅkā Śāh, a rebellious scribe in the Gujarat region, accessed manuscripts of the Śvetāmbara canon illegitimately, and started the Sthanakavasi tradition. Armed with access to numerous Jain scriptures and manuscripts, Loṅkā misinterpreted them as lacking references to temple construction or image worship, despite these practices being extremely well-detailed even in the untouched ancient anga sutras and prevalent at the time. He asserted that such practices were spiritually hazardous, violating the principle of ahiṃsā (non-injury) central to Jain philosophy. Loṅkā argued that building temples led to the destruction of microscopic organisms, and ritualistic pūjā (worship) involved subtle forms of harm through material offerings like flowers or incense. However, such minute levels of violence for spiritual upliftment was totally permissible for householders. The Murtipujakas assert that since ascetics are required to completely abstain from violence, they do not perform worshipping of idols using materialistic objects (Dravya Puja). Besides, the mention of an idol of a Tirthankara in the Hathigumpha inscription proves the existence of idolatry in Jainism in the 2nd century BCE.

The Sthanakvasi sect was founded in the 17th century by Lava of Surat, a follower of Loṅkā. Today, both the Sthānakavāsī and Terāpanthī sects align with Loṅkā, asserting that mental worship (bhāva-pūjā) is the most appropriate form of religious practice. They argue that reliance on images and temples signifies an attachment to material objects that is spiritually counterproductive.

In contrast, Mūrtipūjaka Jains respond to these criticisms by highlighting the scriptural prevalence of image worship and emphasizing the necessity of images for the spiritual practices of laypeople. A notable figure in this discourse is the Jaina scholar, Ātmārām (1837 – 1896), initially a Sthānakavāsī monk who later became the mendicant leader Ācārya Vijayānandasūri. Upon studying early Jain texts in Prakrit and their Sanskrit commentaries, Ātmārām discovered abundant references to image worship. This revelation led him to challenge the non-Mūrtipūjaka position, asserting that it contradicted Jain scriptures.

References

• Dundas, Paul (2002), The Jains, Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-26605-5

• Cort, John (2010). Framing the Jina: Narratives of Icons and Idols in Jain History. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp. 5. ISBN 978-0195385021.
• Flügel, Peter (2008). "The Unknown Loṅkā: Tradition and the Cultural Unconscious". In Nalini Balbir; Colette Caillat (eds.). Jaina Studies. 12th World Sanskrit Conference, Helsinki, 13–18 July 2003. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas. pp. 181–279. ISBN 978-8120832473.
• Long, Jeffrey (2009). Jainism: An Introduction. London, UK: I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd. ISBN 978-1845116262.
• Wiley, Kristi L. (2004). The A to Z of Jainism. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. ISBN 978-0810868212.