Digambara Terapanth Digambara Terapanth Digambara Terapanth is one of the sects of Digambara Jainism, the other being the "Bispanthi" sect. It formed out of strong opposition to the religious domination of traditional religious leaders called "bhattarakas" during the 12-16th century A.D, for the bhattarakas starting deviating from the original/Mula jain customs. They oppose the worship of various minor gods and goddesses. Some Terapanthi practices, like not using flowers in worship, gradually spread throughout most of North Indian Jainism as well. The Terapanthi movement was born out of the "Adhyatma" movement that arose in 1626 AD (V.S. 1683) in Agra. Its leading proponent
Sadhu had 6,000 sadhvis of which less than 100 belong to the Digambara tradition and rest to Svetambara. The processes and rituals of becoming a sadhu vary with sect; in almost all sects, a sadhu is initiated by a guru, who bestows upon the initiate a new name, as well as a mantra, (or sacred sound or phrase), which is generally known only to the sadhu and the guru and may be repeated by the initiate as part of meditative practice. Becoming a sadhu is a path followed by millions. It is supposed to be the fourth phase in a Hindu's