________________
HISTORY OF JAINA MONACHISM
The Period:
One who was accused of 'äsätanā pārāñcika', had to fall out of the gaccha for a minimum period of six months and a maximum period of twelve months.
He who had to face the 'pratisevana päräñcika' had to fall out for a minimum period of one year and a maximum period of twelve years.
379
The Judge in the Case:
It was only the acarya who could pronounce the punishment of 'pārāñcika' against a monk.
Life under Punishment:
The defaulter had to lead a secluded life for twelve years. His mode. of life resembled somewhat to the rigour of the Jinakalpika life. If the ācārya had to supervise him, then he had to do so everyday. If, however, the monk fell ill, then the acarya had to wait upon him till the latter recovered. In the absence of the äcärya, either an upadhyāya or a gitärtha had to wait upon him.
Commuting the Punishment:
Under certain cases the punishment of the monk punished with pārāñcika, was commuted.
If such a monk was successful in pleasing the king who on account of that stopped giving trouble to the monks, then at the request of the king, the Sangha had the powers to commute the punishment of the monk. There was a set of rules regarding the proportionate lessening of the punishment. The Sangha could even go to length of setting the defaulter free from the blot by cancelling the rest of the duration of the punishment, if it was so pleased to do.
The Last Two Punishments:
The Jitakalpa and its Bhāṣya70 seem to refer to the fact that the last two punishments, viz. 'anavaṭṭhappä' and the 'parañiciya' went out of use after Bhadrabähu, the 'caturdaśapürvadhärin.'
It may, however, be noted that the Chedasûtras like the Kalpa, Vyava hāra and the Nisitha deal with these severe types of punishments in a summary way. They rather prefer to deal more with the 'parihära' and its
69. Ibid. 5032-57; Jit. bhā. 2578ff.
70. Jit. 102; bha. 2586-87.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org