Medieval History

With reference to the religious practices in India, the "Sthanakvasi" sect belongs to

  1. Buddhism 
  2. Jainism 
  3. Vaishnavism 
  4. Shaivism


Sthanakvasi is a sect of svetambara Jainism founded by a merchant named Lavaji in 1653 AD. It believes that idol worship is not essential in the path of soul purification and attainment of Nirvana or Moksha.

The sect is essentially a reformation of the one founded on teachings of Lonka, a fifteenth-century Jain reformer. Sthānakavāsins accept thirty-two of the Jain Agamas, the Śvētāmbara canon. Śvētāmbarins who are not Sthānakavāsins are mostly part of the Murtipujaka sect.

The correct option is B.