Previous Year Question
With reference to the religious practices in India, the “Sthanakavasi” sect belongs to
Correct Answer: B
Detailed Solution
The Sthanakavasi is a branch of the Shvetambara tradition of Jainism. Its most distinctive feature is that the Sthanakavasis do not accept image worship or temple-centred worship. They conduct religious practice and discourses in simple prayer halls known as Sthanakas. The name ‘Sthanakavasi’ is derived from this practice.
The historical background of this tradition is connected with Lonka Shah in the fifteenth century. Around 1474 CE, Lonka Shah, a merchant of Ahmedabad, initiated a reformist tradition within Jainism that opposed image worship. This non-iconic tradition subsequently came to be identified as the Sthanakavasi tradition. The Government of India's National Mission for Manuscripts material in Tattvabodha also notes that it did not differ fundamentally from the Shvetambara tradition and was therefore known as Shvetambara Sthanakavasi.
Thus, it should not be associated with Buddhism, Vaishnavism or Shaivism, but with the Shvetambara tradition of Jainism.