Kashtha Sangha (काष्ठा संघ) was a

Digambar ''Digambara'' (; "sky-clad") is one of the two major schools of Jainism, the other being '' Śvētāmbara'' (white-clad). The Sanskrit word ''Digambara'' means "sky-clad", referring to their traditional monastic practice of neither possessing ...

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

monastic order Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important ro ...

once dominant in several regions of North and Western

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. It is considered to be a branch of

Mula Sangh ''Digambara'' (; "sky-clad") is one of the two major schools of Jainism, the other being ''Śvētāmbara'' (white-clad). The Sanskrit word ''Digambara'' means "sky-clad", referring to their traditional monastic practice of neither possessing n ...

itself. It is said to have originated from a town named Kashtha.

Origin

The origin of Kashtha Sangha is often attributed to Lohacharya in several texts and inscriptions from Delhi region. The Kashtasangh Gurvavali identifies Lohacharya as the last person who knew Acharanga in the Digambara tradition, who lived until the 683rd year of the nirvana of Lord

Mahavira Mahavira (Sanskrit: महावीर) also known as Vardhaman, was the 24th ''tirthankara'' (supreme preacher) of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd ''tirthankara'' Parshvanatha. Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6 ...

. the Darshanasara of Devasena (VS 990) attributes the origin to Kumarasena in Vikram Samvat 753. Acharya Chandrasena initiated Aryanandi. Aryanandi initiated

Virasena Acharya Virasena (792-853 CE), also known as Veerasena, was a Digambara monk and belonged to the lineage of Acharya Kundakunda. He was an Indian mathematician and Jain philosopher and scholar. He was also known as a famous orator and an accompl ...

and Jayasena. Virasena initiated six disciples who were Dasharayguru,

Jinasena Jinasena (c. 9th century CE) was a monk and scholar in the ''Digambara'' tradition of Jainism. He was patronized by the Rashtrakuta king Amoghavarsha I. He was the author of ''Adipurana'' and '' Mahapurana''.Gunabhadra who later initiated Lokasena. Vinayasena initiated Kumarasena who started the Kashtha Sangha.

Communities

Several of the Jain communities were affiliated with the Kashtha Sangha. The

Agrawal Jain Agrawals are the descendent of Maharaja Agrasen who was a legendary Indian king of Agroha, a city of traders. He is the descendant of Kush, son of lord Ram and he was born in 35th generation after lord Ram. He is credited with the establishment ...

s were the major supporters of Kashtha Sangha. They are said to have been initiated by Lohacharya in antiquity. Muni Sabha Singh writes in his Padma Purana (VS 1711) काष्ठा संघी माथुर गच्छ, पहुकर गण में निरमल पछ, ,
महा निर्ग्रन्थ आचारज लोह, छांड्या सकल जाति का मोह, ,
अग्रोहे निकट प्रभु ठाढे जोग, करैं वन्दना सब ही लोग, ,
अग्रवाल श्रावक प्रतिबोध, त्रेपन क्रिया बताई सोध, , Kashta Sangha included several orders: * Nanditat gachchha: associated with

Nanded Nanded is a city in Maharashtra state, India. It is the tenth largest city in the state and the seventy-ninth most populous city in India. It is the second largest city in Marathwada region. It is the district headquarters of Nanded distri ...

. It is also called Ramasenanvaya, after Acharya Ramasena, the founder of the

Narsingpura Narsingpura is one of the Jain communities. It originated from the Mewar (Rajasthan) region. Many of them have migrated to Gujarat, MP, and recently to Maharashtra. Narsingpura community follows Digambar Jain sect. According to tradition, it wa ...

community. * Mathura Sangha: The

Agrawal Agrawal (anglicised as Agarwal, Agerwal, Agrawala, Agarwala, Agarwalla, Aggarwal, Agarawal, Agarawala) is a Bania community found throughout northern, central and western India, mainly in the states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Hi ...

s were associated with this order. It was founded by Ramasena according to Darshanasar. The oldest known inscription is of 1170 AD. * Bagada gachha: associated with

Vagad Vagad (also known as Vagar, Hindi: वागड) is a region in southeastern Rajasthan state of western India. Its boundaries are roughly defined by those of the districts of Dungarpur and Banswara. Major cities of the region are Dungarpur and B ...

region of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern ...

* Lata-bagada gachha: associated with

and

Lata Lata (Hindi: लता) is a Hindu/Sanskrit Indian female given name, which means "creeper" and "vine". Lata may refer to: Notable people named Lata *Lata Bhatt (born 1954), Indian singer. * Lata (born 1975), Musician. *Lata Mangeshkar (1929–2 ...

region of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

. The 1145 AD inscription of Dubkunda mentions this order. The acharyas of this order formerly used to reside in the Punnata region of Karnataka.

Jinasena Jinasena (c. 9th century CE) was a monk and scholar in the ''Digambara'' tradition of Jainism. He was patronized by the Rashtrakuta king Amoghavarsha I. He was the author of ''Adipurana'' and '' Mahapurana''.Harivansh Purana The ''Harivamsa'' ( , literally "the genealogy of Hari") is an important work of Sanskrit literature, containing 16,374 shlokas, mostly in the '' anustubh'' metre. The text is also known as the ''Harivamsa Purana.'' This text is believed to ...

in shaka 705 belonged to this order. Kashta Sangha eventually merged into

. The celebrated poet and pratishthacharya

Raighu Raidhu (IAST: Raidhū; 1393–1489) was an Apabhramsha poet from Gwalior, and an important figure in the Digambara Jain community. He supervised the pratishtha consecration ceremony of many—perhaps most—of the Jain idols carved on the hill s ...

was a disciple of the Kashtha Sangh

Bhattaraka A Bhaṭṭāraka ( pka, भट्टारक "holy one") heads traditional Digambara Jain institutions. He is responsible for training scholars, maintenance of libraries, managing endowments, presiding over installation ceremonies and running ...

s of

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

. The rock carved Jain statues in the

Gwalior Fort The Gwalior Fort commonly known as the ''Gwāliiyar Qila'', is a hill fort near Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India. The fort has existed at least since the 10th century, and the inscriptions and monuments found within what is now the fort campus in ...

were mostly consecrated by the Kashtha Sangh

s, as stated in the inscriptions dated between 1441 and 1474.“E De Clercq, Bhattarakas and Digambara monastic lineages of fifteenth century Gwalior : glimpses of Raïdhu's writings”, Journal of Asian History 45 (1-2), 2011, pp. 63-83

References

Citations

Sources

* * Jain Dharma, Kailash Chandra Siddhanta Shastri, 1985.
Bhattarak Sampradaya, Introduction to Jain History
by Dr. K. C. Jain {{Jainism topics Digambara sects