The division of the Jain order into Digambara and Shvetambara sects is traditionally linked to which pair of teachers?
- A.Bhadrabahu and Sthulabhadra
- B.Makkhali Gosala and Jamali
- C.Devardhi Kshamashramana and Hemachandra
- D.Vasumitra and Ashvaghosha
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, Bhadrabahu and Sthulabhadra. During a long famine in Magadha, Bhadrabahu led a body of monks south to Shravanabelagola in Karnataka while Sthulabhadra stayed in the north and convened a council at Pataliputra. The returning monks refused the relaxed practice they found, and the order divided into the naked Digambaras and the white-robed Shvetambaras.
Option B names Makkhali Gosala, founder of the Ajivika sect, and Jamali, Mahavira own son-in-law and first dissenter, neither of whom caused this split. Option C names Devardhi Kshamashramana, who presided over the later Vallabhi council, and Hemachandra, a Chalukya-age Jain scholar. Option D names the president and the deputy of the Fourth Buddhist Council, who belong to Buddhism entirely. Tradition also places Chandragupta Maurya with Bhadrabahu at Shravanabelagola.
Read the full article: Buddhism and Jainism: Teachings, Councils and Exam Facts
Practice Questions
View allGautama Buddha delivered his first sermon at which of the following places?
- A.Bodh Gaya
- B.Sarnath
- C.Kushinagar
- D.Lumbini
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After his enlightenment the Buddha walked to the deer park at Sarnath near Varanasi and taught the Four Noble Truths to the five ascetics who had earlier deserted him.
Read the full explanation →The Fourth Buddhist Council was held under the patronage of which ruler?
- A.Ashoka
- B.Ajatashatru
- C.Kanishka
- D.Kalashoka
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The Fourth Buddhist Council met at Kundalvana in Kashmir in the first century CE under the Kushana king Kanishka, with Vasumitra presiding and Ashvaghosha assisting him.
Read the full explanation →Who among the following was the twenty-third Tirthankara of Jainism?
- A.Rishabhadeva
- B.Parshvanatha
- C.Neminatha
- D.Mahavira
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He was the twenty-third Tirthankara, a prince of Varanasi and son of King Ashvasena, whose emblem is the serpent. He is placed about two hundred and fifty years before Mahavira and gave his followers four vows: non-violence, truth, non-stealing and non-possession.
Read the full explanation →Which vow did Mahavira add to the four vows already taught by Parshvanatha?
- A.Ahimsa, non-violence
- B.Satya, truthfulness
- C.Aparigraha, non-possession
- D.Brahmacharya, celibacy
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Parshvanatha had prescribed four restraints, and Mahavira added celibacy to them, so Jain monastic discipline rests on five great vows: ahimsa, satya, asteya, aparigraha and brahmacharya.
Read the full explanation →The Abhidhamma Pitaka was compiled at which Buddhist council?
- A.First council at Rajgriha
- B.Second council at Vaishali
- C.Third council at Pataliputra
- D.Fourth council in Kashmir
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Held in the reign of Ashoka under the presidency of Moggaliputta Tissa, it purged the order of dissenters, added the Abhidhamma Pitaka, the philosophical third basket, to the canon, and decided to send missionaries to Sri Lanka and other lands.
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