Tapa Gaccha is the largest
Gaccha (monastic order) of
Svetambara Jainism
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 bein ...
.
History
Tapa Gaccha was founded by Acharya Jagatchandra Suri in
Vikram Samvat
Vikram Samvat (IAST: ''Vikrama Samvat''; abbreviated VS) or Bikram Sambat B.S. and also known as the Vikrami calendar, is a Hindu calendar historically used in the Indian subcontinent. Vikram Samvat is generally 57 years ahead of Gregorian Calend ...
1285 (1228 AD). He was given the title of "Tapa" (i.e., the meditative one) by the ruler of
Mewar
Mewar or Mewad is a region in the south-central part of Rajasthan state of India. It includes the present-day districts of Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Pratapgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Pirawa Tehsil of Jhalawar District of Rajasthan, Neemuch and ...
. This title was applied to the group.
Under
Vijayanandsuri's leadership and other monks, Shwetambara Murtipujak Conference was established in 1893 which reformed mendicant as well as lay religious practices. As a result of this reform, most Shwetambara Jain monks today belong to Tapa Gaccha.
Today, the majority of its followers live in states such as
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 ...
,
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...
,
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
,
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
,
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...
and
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 ...
.
Denominations
Later Tapa Gachha is followed by 21 different ''samuday'' or orders. The sects follow different rituals but they do not have differences about scriptures.
Some of these differences include ''Tithi'' (calendar date), veneration of gurus, pilgrimage of
Palitana temples
The Palitana temples are the large groups of Jain temples located on Shatrunjaya hills near Palitana in Bhavnagar district, Gujarat, India. Also known as Padliptapur of Kathiawad in historic texts, the dense collection of over 800 small shrin ...
during monsoon and ''Santikaram'' (a religious text) chanting on Chaturdasi (14th day in each half of month in
Jain calendar
The ''Vira Nirvana Samvat'' (era) is a calendar era beginning on 7 October 527 BCE. It commemorates the Nirvana of Lord Mahaviraswami, the 24th Jain Tirthankara. This is the oldest system of chronological reckoning which is still used in India ...
).
Till the time of Nemisuri, there was a unity in Tapa Gachcha because of lack of proper knowledge about Tithi decision.
Ramchandrasuri of
Prem Suri follows his guru and corrected tithi decision which was followed by other three groups(Samudaay) of Jain Monks. ''
'Be Tithi Paksh with the view that religious ritual ''Tithi'' can be omitted or held more than one time in the religious calendar. In 1935, on
Samvatsari, the last day of
Paryushan
Das Lakshana'' or ''Paryushana is the most important annual holy event for Jains and is usually celebrated in August or September in Hindi calendar (indian calendar) Bhadrapad Month's Shukla Paksha. Jains increase their level of spiritual inte ...
, Ramchandrasuri order observed it on a different day.
This became a sectarian issue and tapa gachcha separated into new ''Be Tithi Paksh'' or 'two date fraction' and existing ''Ek Tithi Paksh'' or 'one date fraction'.
Anandji Kalyanji Trust, which manages 1200 Jain temples, unsuccessfully attempted several times to resolve the issue. In 1986, Bhuvanbhanu suri order formally separated from Premsuri order and Ramchandra suri followed for two more years then stuck to Right decision of Tithi.
Other distinguishing factors include veneration of gurus using ''Vasakshep'' (a
sandalwood
Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus '' Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods for ...
powder used for worship) between these two fractions. ''Be tithi'' fraction believe that Guru or Acharya should be venerated by ''Navangi Guru Poojan'', spreading powder on nine points of body while ''Ek tithi'' fraction believe that it should be spread on one point of body, ''Akangi Guru Poojan''. Both fractions differ on pilgrimage of
Palitana temples
The Palitana temples are the large groups of Jain temples located on Shatrunjaya hills near Palitana in Bhavnagar district, Gujarat, India. Also known as Padliptapur of Kathiawad in historic texts, the dense collection of over 800 small shrin ...
on mount Shatrunjay by lay persons during monsoon.
See also
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Tristutik Gaccha
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Kharatara Gaccha
*
Jain schools and branches
Jainism is an Indian religion which is traditionally believed to be propagated by twenty-four spiritual teachers known as ''tirthankara''. Broadly, Jainism is divided into two major schools of thought, Digambara and Svetambara. These are furt ...
References
Citations
Sources
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{{Jainism topics
Śvētāmbara sects
1229 establishments in Asia
13th-century establishments in India