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[Namaskarasutra]
[5
It is the one that completely destroys sins and is the first auspiciousness in all the auspiciousnesses of the world.
Discussion - Jain culture has an important place in Indian culture, and Jainism has an important place in Jain culture. There is no mantra greater than the Namaskaramantra or Navkaramantra in the Jain tradition. Jainism is a spiritual religion. Therefore, its mantra is also imbued with spiritual feeling. The Jain tradition believes that the Navkaramantra is the essence, the essence of the entire Jain literature or the fourteen Purvas. The Navkaramantra is the best mantra of Jain literature. It is the main symbol of divine equality. It explains the importance of only virtue-worship, without any sectarian discrimination, without any particular country, caste or religion. In ancient religious texts, the Navkaramantra is also called the Paramesthimantra. Those great souls who are in the supreme position, that is, in the highest form, are called Paramesthis.
The Navkaramantra has many names like Namaskaramantra, Paramesthimantra etc. But the most famous name is Navkaramantra. There are nine verses in the Navkaramantra, hence it is called Navkaramantra. Five verses are of the original verses and the remaining four verses are of the Chulika. The five verses of Arihant etc. are of the role of the seeker and the Siddha, and the last four verses are indicative of the glory of the Maha Mantra.
_Mumuksha humans have considered Namaskar very important. Namaskar is a pure symbol of humility and virtue-receptivity. The tradition of greeting the superior and elder souls has been uninterrupted since time immemorial. Arihants have twelve, Siddhas have eight, Acharyas have thirty-six, Upadhyayas have twenty-five and Sadhus have twenty-seven virtues. The speech of these five verses, endowed with these virtues, is the greeting given to the great souls, which liberates from this mortal world forever and bestows eternal Shiva-Sukha.
The first verse is of Arihant. There are two words in Arihant - 'Ari' and 'Hant'. Ari means - internal enemies like attachment and aversion, and Hant means - destroyer.
The second meaning of the word Arihant is - the one who has destroyed the four destructive karmas of knowledge-veil, vision-veil, mohaniya and antaray, and has attained perfect knowledge and perfect vision, that liberated soul is Arihant.
The Acharyas of the Arihant verse have mentioned many readings, such as - Arhant, Arhant, Aru Hant, Arohant etc. Those for whom there is no secret in the world, those whose perfect knowledge and vision hide nothing, they are Arhants. Those who are worshipped by miracles like the Ashoka tree etc. are Arhants. Those who are never to be born again, that is, those who have been liberated from birth and death forever, are called 'Aruhant' or 'Arohant'.