In the 15th century, the Jain reformer Loṅkā Śāh, a scribe in the Gujarat region, played a pivotal role in the development of the Sthanakavasi tradition. Armed with access to numerous Jain scriptures and manuscripts, Loṅkā interpreted them as lacking references to temple construction or image worship, despite these practices being prevalent at the time. He asserted that such practices were spiritually hazardous, violating the principle of
ahiṃsā (non-injury) central to Jain philosophy. Loṅkā's influence endures, revealing an iconoclastic tendency within a strict doctrinal interpretation of Jain teachings. The Sthanakvasi sect was founded in the 17th century by Lava of Surat, a follower of Loṅkā. Today, both the Śvetāmbara Sthānakavāsī and Terāpanthī sects align with Loṅkā, asserting that mental worship (bhāva-pūjā) is the most appropriate form of religious practice. They argue that reliance on images and temples signifies an attachment to material objects that is spiritually counterproductive. In contrast, Mūrtipūjaka Jains respond to these criticisms by highlighting the scriptural prevalence of image worship and emphasizing the necessity of images for the spiritual practices of laypeople. A notable figure in this discourse is
Ātmārām (1837 – 1896), initially a Śvetāmbara Sthānakavāsī monk who later became the mendicant leader
Ācārya Vijayānandasūri. Upon studying early Jain texts in Prakrit and their Sanskrit commentaries, Ātmārām discovered abundant references to image worship. This revelation led him to challenge the non-Mūrtipūjaka position, asserting that it contradicted Jain scripture. ==Notes==