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216 THE JAINA LAYMAN AND times they kneel (pañčānga) in front of idol or guru, and three times also they perform āvartana, i. e. make a circle before their faces from the right ear round to the left ear, holding a mouth-cloth or other piece of material in front of their mouths, and repeat the Tikkhutto, which may be translated :
Making avartana from the right ear to the left three times, I salute and bow, and I worship and adore you; you are a guru (or a god), you are auspicious, you do good, you are full of knowledge, so I serve you.'
If no image and no guru be there, the Jaina kneel towards the north-east (in which direction they believe the country of Mahāvideha, where certain Tirthankara live, to be situated) and then ask permission of the first of these, the Simandhara,1 before repeating the Tikkhutto. During the forty-eight minutes they not only meditate but also read the scriptures, and at the end of the forty-eight minutes they repeat the particular pātha for closing Sāmāyika which refers to five special faults which may be committed during meditation, namely; failing to control thoughts; mind; actions; failing to observe the fixed time; and not repeating the păţha correctly.
The tenth vow, Deśāvakāśika vrata, which resembles two that we have already discussed, is taken in the following words:
I take the tenth vow called Deśāvakāśika. I will not go beyond the limit fixed by me in any of the four directions in mind or body, and will not open any of the five āśrava (channels for sin. In the limit that I have fixed I will not enjoy any of the things which I have vowed not to enjoy. I will not transgress nor cause others to transgress it by mind, speech, or body; and I will not enjoy such things in mind, speech, or body for one day and night.'
In taking this vow a man promises for one particular day to still further contract the limits he has undertaken not to transgress, and he may bind himself during that day
Deśāva. kāśika vrata.
1 Simandhara was the earliest Tirthankara from the land of Mahāvideha, just as Rişabhadeva was the first in Bhārata (India).
| SR No. | 011099 |
| Book Title | Heart of Jainism |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Mrs Sinclair Stevenson |
| Publisher | Mrs Sinclair Stevenson |
| Publication Year | 1915 |
| Total Pages | 365 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 29 MB |