A kshullak or kshullaka
lit. small or junior
is a junior Digambar Jain monk. A kshullak wears two garments as opposed to a full monk who wears no clothes.
A kshullak is sometimes accorded the title Varni, when they are engaged in studying and teaching.
Well known kshullakas include:
- Kshullakas Ganesh Varni
- Kshullaka Jinendra Varni
A Digambara Jain shravaka at the highest rank of 11th pratima is either a kshullaka or an ailaka. He is just one step below a full muni. His conduct is prescribed in Vasunandi Shravakachara and Lati Samhita.
A kshullaka wears a loin cloth (kaupina) and a white rectangular cloth as a wrap. An ailak uses only a loin cloth.
A kshullaka may live in a house or may be a wanderer. He may eat food placed in his palms, or from a container. He eats once a day. He may beg from a single house or from multiple ones.
A kshullaka may keep a yajnopavita and a shikha. In Jain tradition, Narada muni is assumed to be a kshullaka Jain monk.
Kolhapur in Maharashtra was also once known as Kshullakapur because of the presence of a large number of Jain monks during the Shilahara rule.