Shravak - Jainism

Jainism

Sravaka (श्रावक) in Jainism is a lay Jain. He is the hearer of discourses of Jain munis and scholars i.e. Jinavani.

The Jain chaturvidha sangha includes monks, nuns, lay men (shravas) and women (shravikas). Thus the term shravaka has been used for the Jain community itself. Saraogi the name of a Jain community, and sometimes the last name in some families, is derived from Shravak. The long lost Jain community in eastern India is named Sarak, recalling its jain background.

The conduct of a Jain shravak is governed by texts called Shravakacharas, the best known of which is the Ratnakaranda Shravakachara of Samantabhadra.

A shravaka rises spiritually through the eleven Pratimas. After the eleventh step, he is no longer a shravak, but becomes a Muni.

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