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Exposition of Pratikramana Stotras
Making an additional effort, to repent, to cleanse the soul by extracting evil out of myself, I stand in body-abandonment posture (Käyotsarga).
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Explanation: Reciting the iriyävahiyam sutra will purify the impure soul; but some sins may still persist, which are destroyed by reciting the tassa uttari sutra.
Our soul is pierced with sins, to extract the sins out we have to perform the following acts: Make additional efforts, repent and reproach and resort to path of three spiritual jewels. To perform the above-mentioned activities, it is important to perform the bodyabandonment posture (Käyotsarga).
Uttarikarana means act of additional effort; präyaschitkarana means act of confession by repentance and reproach; vishodhikarana means act of resorting to the path of right faith, knowledge and conduct (the three spiritual jewels) to prevent any further perverted attitudes and acts by evilness. Vishalyikarana means eliminating the sins from the soul forever by performing all the above activities so that they can never return.
It is very important to perform all religious ceremonies with pure and clear conscious, this is achieved by performing a form of meditation in which a person abandons his body and concentrates on the soul (käyotsarga).
If a person performs atonement (pratikramana) with pure intentions, not only he can get rid of all the sins committed during that day but also his karmic bonds of many past births are also destroyed. Laghu Pratikramana means short Pratikramana.
