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**Self-study (Swadhyay) is the supreme austerity.** It is a powerful tool for acquiring new knowledge, preserving acquired knowledge, and for the eradication of the karma that obscures knowledge. A major characteristic of self-study is the concentration of the mind. Self-study stops the restless mind from wandering and makes it focused. This is why four periods of the day are designated for it.
Abhaydeva Suri, the commentator of the **Sthananga Sutra**, defines self-study as "studying with proper decorum" - '**Suṣṭhu āmaryādayā adhiyate iti svādhyāyaḥ**'.
The **Sthananga Sutra** (2.130) compares self-study to a **Nandanavana** (heavenly garden). Just as in the Nandanavana, every direction offers magnificent views that delight the mind, and a person forgets all their troubles upon entering it, similarly, in the Nandanavana of self-study, one finds beautiful and instructive sights, and the mind, freed from worldly worries, begins to wander in a transcendental realm. Self-study is like a lamp for our dark life path.
**Transcription (Pratilekhana):** A monk must transcribe all their possessions, such as clothes, utensils, etc., in the morning and evening. Using these possessions without looking at them leads to the sin of violence. Not performing self-study or transcription at the prescribed time, performing it at a forbidden time, not having faith in self-study and transcription, falsely representing them, or not performing them in the proper way, are all transgressions (**Aticara-dosha**) related to self-study and transcription.
This **Kal-Pratilekhana Sutra** should be read after performing self-study and transcription. The meaning of the terms **Atikrama**, etc., that appear in this text is as follows:
1. **Atikrama:** To think of breaking a vow or promise.
2. **Vyatikrama:** To be inclined to break a vow.
3. **Aticara:** To partially break a vow.
4. **Anacara:** To completely break a vow.
**Thirty-three Verses:**
I renounce the one-fold un-restrained. I renounce the two-fold bonds - the bond of attachment (raga) and the bond of aversion (dvesha). I renounce the three-fold punishments - the punishment of the mind (manadanda), the punishment of the body (kayadanda), and the punishment of the lifespan (vayadanda).