Within the Jain tradition, the two principal sects are Digambara (“sky-clad”) and Śvetāmbara (“white-clad”), and their differences can be seen as distinct emphases within a shared quest for liberation. Digambara monastics hold up complete nudity for monks as the highest symbol of renunciation, expressing the ideal of total non-possession, while their nuns wear simple white robes. Śvetāmbara monks and nuns, by contrast, wear white garments and allow a small number of basic possessions, understanding that inner detachment can coexist with minimal external supports. These divergent practices of clothing are not merely external details; they embody contrasting interpretations of how far outward renunciation must go to mirror inward freedom.

The two sects also differ in their views regarding women and liberation, which reveals deeper doctrinal nuances. Śvetāmbaras affirm that women are fully capable of attaining moksha and revere Mallinātha, the nineteenth Tīrthaṅkara, as female. Digambaras, however, maintain that a woman must be reborn as a man in order to achieve final liberation and consider Mallinātha to have been male. These positions do not negate the shared goal of spiritual emancipation, but they shape how each community understands the conditions under which the soul’s ultimate purity is realized.

Scripture and sacred history form another axis of distinction. Śvetāmbaras uphold a canon of āgamas that they regard as preserving the teachings of Mahāvīra and the other Tīrthaṅkaras, and they have maintained more of the ancient textual tradition. Digambaras, on the other hand, hold that the original āgamas were lost and therefore rely on later authoritative works and oral transmission, developing a different scriptural corpus. In this way, both sects honor the same spiritual lineage while tracing it through different textual pathways.

These doctrinal and practical differences are reflected in ritual and iconography. Digambara images of the Jinas are typically nude and unadorned, emphasizing utter detachment, whereas Śvetāmbara images are usually depicted as clothed and may have distinct, open eyes, sometimes with minimal ornamentation. Śvetāmbara communities also include sub-sects such as Mūrtipūjaka, which centers temple image worship, and Sthānakavāsī and Terāpanthī groups, which reject image worship and focus on inward practices and scriptural recitation. Among Digambaras, internal lines such as Bisapanth, Terapanth, and Taranapanth differ in their ritual styles and the degree of emphasis placed on temple worship versus scriptural study.

Despite these varied expressions, both Digambara and Śvetāmbara Jains are united by a common spiritual grammar: ahiṃsā (non-violence), aparigraha (non-possessiveness), anekāntavāda (the many-sidedness of truth), the workings of karma, and the aspiration for liberation through self-purification and ethical discipline. Their differences can be seen less as opposing creeds and more as parallel paths, each illuminating a different facet of what it means to walk the rigorous, compassionate way that Jainism sets before the seeker.