Jainism Glossary Terms
mendicant
A mendicant is one who renounces worldly life, is often a member of a monastic order, and is sustained by the alms of the laity.
monastery
A monastery is the residence of monks, or monastics; the term is commonly used in both the Christian and Buddhist traditions. Monasticism refers to the life of work, study, and discipline led by monks and nuns.
monk
A monk is a man who renounces worldly life and is ordinarily a member of a monastic order or community, thereby undertaking a special commitment to study, service, asceticism, prayer, or disciplined spiritual practice. In the Buddhist tradition, fully...
murti
Both Hindus and Jains honor sacred images called murtis. The term murti means form or likeness, referring to the material form of a deity or divine being as a focus for worship. These images may be temporary or permanently installed, as in a temple...
Murtipujak Shvetambara
The major division of Jains is between the Shvetambara and Digambara traditions. The majority of Shvetambaras are Murtipujaks who, as their name indicates, perform puja (worship) before the murtis (images) of the Jinas or Tirthankaras.
nun
A nun is a woman who renounces worldly life and is ordinarily a member of a monastic order or community, thereby undertaking a special commitment to study, service, asceticism, prayer, or disciplined spiritual practice. In the Buddhist tradition, fully...
Parshvanath
Parshvanath, the 23rd Tirthankara of the Jain tradition, is said to have lived in the 9th and 8th centuries BCE. Traditional accounts state that Parshvanath, after reigning as king in Varanasi, took up the life of an ascetic, thereby attaining...
Paryushan
Paryushana is the most important holy season in the Shvetambara Jain ritual calendar. This festival season, celebrated over eight days in September, is the climax of the four-month monsoon period when ascetics abandon the wandering life to settle down...
pathshala
Pathshala means “learning place” is traditionally used to describe the religious classes conducted by traditional teachers or gurus. In the Jain tradition in America, this term has been used to describe the religious education classes conducted by Jain...
Prakrit
Prakrit is an ancient vernacular language of India, akin to the more classical Sanskrit. It is the language in which the Jain scriptures are written.
pratishtha
Pratishtha means establishment or installation and refers to the rites by which images are consecrated for worship in the Hindu and Jain traditions.
saman
As part of his reforms to make the Jain tradition better able to address the challenges of 20th century life, the Terapanthi leader Acharya Tulsi has established a new, lower order of male and female ascetics, called samans and samanis. This order is...
Samvatsari Pratikraman
For Shvetambaras, the final day of the eight-day festival of Paryushana is Samvatsari Pratikraman, the “Annual Confession.” On this day every member of the Shvetambara Jain community confesses any infringement of the five great vows to his or her teacher...
seva
Seva means service, a religious obligation of both renunciants and laity in the religious traditions of India.
Shvetambara
The Shvetambara tradition is one of the two major branches of Jain monasticism, the other being Digambara. Each has its own community of lay followers. The two monastic groups began to emerge as early as the 4th century BCE, although the split was not...
Siddha
Siddha means accomplished or perfected, one who has attained spiritual realization. In the Jain tradition, an enlightened and liberated soul is called a Siddha. Such a soul does not need a body, but transcends the cycle of life and death and dwells in...
Siddhachalam Ashram
Siddhachalam, which means literally “Abode of the Siddhas,” is described by American Jains as the first Jain tirtha (place of pilgrimage) outside of India. It was founded by Sushil Kumar (1926–1994) in 1983 and is situated on 108 acres of land in the...
Snatra Puja
Snatra Puja, the bathing the image of Mahavira, occurs during Mahavira Jayanti, i.e. the annual celebration of the “Birthday of the Great Hero.”
Sthanakvasis
The Sthanakvasis are members of a Shvetambara Jain sect which regards image-worship as contrary to the teachings of the Tirthankaras. They are called Sthanakvasis (“Dwellers in Halls”) because their monks and nuns do no. stay in monasteries attached to...
svadhyaya
Svadhyaya means self-study. Because of the rules prohibiting Jain monastics from traveling by mechanical means, the lay community in the United States has had to take greater responsibility for its religious education. It has done so by forming lay-led...
Terapanth
Terapantha sect means "path of thirteen" and refers to an 18th century Jain reform movement, severely puritanical, launched by a monk named Bhikanji and twelve followers. Today, under the leadership of Acharya Tulsi, the Terapanths have taken their...
tirtha
A tirtha is a spiritual “ford” or “crossing place,” and, by extension, a place of pilgrimage, often situated on a riverbank, a hilltop, or in a place of special natural beauty. There are many Hindu and Jain tirthas in India and, increasingly, in the...
Tirthankara
In the Jain tradition, a Tirthankara, literally a “ford-maker,” is a spiritual pioneer who has crossed beyond the perpetual flow of earthly life. In each cycle of time, there are twenty-four Tirthankaras. They differ from other Jinas in that, in addition...
upadhyaya
In the religious traditions of India, an upadhyaya is a teacher or preceptor.
World Jain Congress
The World Jain Congress is an international organization of Jains, bringing members of the Indians, European, and North American Jain communities together for periodic conventions.
Young Jains of America
Young Jains of America was formed in 1989 during the fifth biennial convention of JAINA. YJA held its first national convention in Chicago in 1994 and plans to hold such conventions biennially. In addition to organizing conferences, YJA also encourages...