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THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
they pass to Devaloka, and may hope, if their previous karma was good and their faith in the Jaina creed strong, to pass to mokşa after fifteen more incarnations.
If any one fears to face a complete fast, he may yet lessen Uņodari. his karma by partially fasting (Uņodarī). He may vow, for
instance, to take a mouthful less every day, and so gradually decrease the quantity he eats. The Jaina consider this to be
very beneficial to the health of the body as well as of the soul. iii. Vșitti- There is another vow of fasting, or rather of limiting the sanksepa. food that one eats (Vrittisanksepa), which may be taken in
four different ways. If a monk or layman has been in the habit of consuming twenty different kinds of food, he may promise to limit his choice to, say, fifteen (Dravya). Or he may limit the number of places from which he will obtain food (Kșetra), a sādhu vowing, for instance, that he would only beg in one particular street, and a laymanthat he would only eat food in Rajkot and Aḥmadābād, and so when travelling between those places refusing food at the junctions en route. Again, one may promise that one will restrict one's food by time (Kāla), a sādhu, for example, eating only the food begged before noon, or a layman promising not to take another meal after his midday one. Or the vow might deal with posture (Bhāva), a monk promising only to receive food that is given to him by some one who is standing upright, and a layman deciding only to eat what his wife
offers him in a certain position. iv. Rasa- An ascetic usually vows when ordaincd to abstain all his tyāga. life, save when ill, from melted butter, milk, sugar, molasses,
or any other food that specially delights him (Rasatyāga). He does this lest he should grow fat and sleep too much,2 and his interest in religion grow dim. A layman often promises to abstain for a particular day from the special
food he most enjoys. v. Kāya- Jaina believe that they may also reduce their karma klesa.
1 Many laymen vow to eat only in their own houses. 2 There is a Gujarāti proverb : He who eats much will sleep much.'
