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Lord, what is the place of the twenty-four **stava** in life, and what spiritual quality does the soul attain when it receives the light of **stavan-stuti** in life?
O Gautama! The light of prayer, **stuti**, purifies the soul's vision-knowledge. The darkness of **mithyatva** destroys the brilliance of the **darshanaguna**, but the **stuti** of **beetarag** removes the **mithyatva** and leads the seeker towards **samyaktva**.
3. **Vandana**
The third study of the **avashyak sutra** is **vandana**. It is essential to have devotion to the guru and humility when entering the field of criticism. In the **jnatasutra**, there is an important question and answer. The connoisseur of life, Seth Sudarshan Muni, asks Thavachaputra, what is the root of Jainism, Jain philosophy? - 'What is the root of Dharma?' That great **anagar** did not say that **kshama** etc. qualities are the root of Dharma, but said that '**vinaya**' is the root of Dharma - 'Sudansana! **Vinaya** is the root of Dharma.' **Vinaya** is like the foundation brick of the building of life. **Vinaya** is a hypnotic mantra. Through **vinaya**, through humility, even gods are subdued and enemies become friends. Therefore, the seeker, after praising the **tirthankara**, bows to the guru. On this subject, the disciple asks -
Q - **Vandana** by whom, sir? What does it generate in the soul?
A - **Vandana** destroys the **niyagoy** karma, binds the **uchagoy** karma, and removes the **sohagga** and **appadhihaya** **anaphala**, and generates **dahiṇabhava**.
O Bhagavan! What is the fruit obtained by the soul from **vandana**?
Gautama! Through **vandana**, the soul destroys the **niyagoy** karma, binds the **uchagoy** karma, and attains such good fortune that its command does not fail, i.e., its speech becomes so refined that everyone obeys its command. Also, **vandana** gives the soul **dahiṇabhava**.
4. **Pratikraman**
**Pratikraman** is the fourth study of the **avashyak sutra**. **Pratikraman** is necessary for the purification of transgressions committed in vows. Every day, one should contemplate how much the soul has gone from vow to non-vow today? How many times did the flame of **kṣaya** ignite? And if it did, what was the cause? Was that **kṣaya** **anantaanubandhi**, **apratyakhyani**, **pratyakhyani**, or **sanjwalan**? Were the words spoken in the heat of anger appropriate or inappropriate? Thus, by contemplating and reflecting in a subtle way, purifying it is **pratikraman**.
In **pratikraman**, the seeker remembers his mistakes and sheds tears of repentance. The blackness of sin cannot be washed away by hundreds of maunds of water from the river, but two drops of tears of repentance wash it away in a minute. A thinker has said - He who makes a mistake is human, but to be proud of that mistake is the work of a demon. It is natural to make mistakes, but to feel proud of mistakes, i.e., to consider mistakes as flowers and sit on them, is the work of a demon.
1. **Uttaraadhyayanasutra** A. 29 Sutra 11
[11]