________________
74 Jaina Religion: Its Historical Journey of Evolution
temples started (siddhāyatanas) coming up, where the idols of Buddha and Jina were worshipped. Thus idol-worship, dāna (charity) etc began to be considered as the primary duties of the householder. In Digambara tradition the place of the ancient șadāvaśyakas (six-essential duties of the householder) is taken over by six daily duties of Jina-worship, serving the guru, study of scriptures, penance, self-control and charity. We do not find a clear account of Jina-worship in earlier scriptures of Ācārārga, Sūtrakrtānga, Uttarādhyayana and Bhagavati in Svetāmbara tradition. In comparison, later scriptures like Sthānanga etc do mention Jinaidol and Jina-temple but there is no discussion of any ceremony or service related to worship. However, in Rājapraśniya Süryābhadeva and in Jñātādharma-kathā Draupadi worshiping Jina- idol is mentioned. All this is the influence of the larger Hindu tradition on Jaina religion.
Ācārya Jinasena, in Harivaṁsapurāņa has talked of water, unhusked rice, sandal, flowers, incense, lamp and naivedya. In this description the order of the eight objects is not the same nor is there a separate reference of water in this text. It should be remembered that the ritual of idol bathing (praksälana) had developed into sprinkling water (abhișeka) which is comparatively later.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
