The Shvetambara (White-Clad) are a Jainismsect. The hand with a wheel on the palm symbolizes the Jain Vow of Ahimsa, meaning non-injury and non-violence. ... A sect is a small religious group that has branched off of a larger established religion. ...
Svetambaras, unlike Digambaras, neither believe that ascetics must practice nudity, nor do they believe that women are unable to obtain moksha -- Shvetambara women are allowed to become ascetics. Svetambaras believe that the 19thTirthankara was a woman. There are ~5900 Svetambara nuns. (Fisher). The Digambara (Sky-Clad) are a Jainist sect, these are the followers of Bhadrabahu. ... The word ascetic derives from the ancient Greek term askesis (practice, training or exercise). ... Nudity or nakedness is the state of wearing no clothing. ... Moksha (Sanskrit: liberation) or Mukti (Sanskrit: release) refers, in general, to liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth. ... In Jainism, a Tirthankara (Fordmaker) is a human who achieved enlightenment, became a Jiva, and whose religious teachings have formed the canon of Jainism; although not Gods, statues of Tirthankaras are found in temples. ... In general, a nun is a female ascetic who chooses to voluntarily leave the world and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent. ... Mary Pat Fisher is the director for international correspondence at the Gobind Sadan Institute of New Delhi. ...
Shvetambaras are less strict and believe that through change one can follow ahimsa on a larger scale.
Shvetambara monks and nuns cover their mouth with a white cloth to practise ahimsa even when they talk. By doing so they minimize the small bacteria that might get killed when they talk. Ahimsa is a religious concept which advocates non-violence and a respect for all life. ...
Shvetamabara Sub-Sects
Murtipujak (Those who worship Idols as Image of Tirthankara)
Sthanakwasi (Do not worship Idols)
Terapanthi (Do not worship Idols)
References
Fisher -- Living Religions (5th Edition) (2003), p.130
Mary Pat Fisher is the director for international correspondence at the Gobind Sadan Institute of New Delhi. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Though Mahavira and his monks were naked, the Shvetambaras believe that at his renunciation he put on a deva-dusya, divine cloth, given by Sakra, king of the gods, which he wore for thirteen months, after which it caught on a thorn bush and pulled off.
The Shvetambara canon is not recognised by Digambaras.
Shvetambaras are concentrated in north west India, in the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh.
Their names reflect what became the chief point at issue between them: Digambara monks go naked because, unlike Shvetambaraascetics, who wear white robes, they regard clothing as a possession, and the renunciation of all possessions is a prerequisite for the monastic life, and so ultimately liberation.
Closely related to their division over clothing and possessions, Digambaras deny the Shvetambara claim that it is possible to attain liberation from a woman's body, a view which, during the medieval period, provoked a unique debate about the salvation of women.
Acarya Tulsi, the current leader of the Shvetambara Terapanth sect (which broke away from the Sthanakavasis in the 18th century), began the Anuvrata movement in 1949 with the intention of making Jain values accessible to the whole of society.
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