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Jaina Acaryas have not laid down any rigid, inflexible text for worship. The ancient texts are in Prakrit which was then the current spoken language of the people. Later on, when Prakrit ceased to be spoken by the common public, the texts of worship were composed in Sanskrit. And in recent years, texts of Jaina worship have been composed in Hindi, the language used by the common people. But the formula of initiation is in Prakrit, and is the same for all. The Jaina worship starts with the formula of initiation. It is as follows:
Om Namo Arhantānam,
Namo Siddhanam,
Namo Airiānam,
Namo Uvajjhāyānam, Namo Loe Savva Sahunam.
To Arhats, the Perfect Souls Embodied, To Siddhas, the Perfect Souls in Nirvana, To Acaryas, the Masters of Adepts, To Upadhyayas, the Adepts, and To Sadhus, the Ascetics devoted, I make obeisance humble.
JAIN JOURNAL
The first word in the Namokara Mantra is a compound word. It is formed by the coalescence of five letters-a, a, ā, u and m. According to the rules of Sanskrit grammar, a, a, a-all three coalesce and form a. A and u change into o and the whole assumes the form Om.
Of the five letters which have coalesced to form Om, the first is the initial letter of Arhat, the second is the initial letter of Asarira which is synonym for Siddha, the third is the initial letter of Acarya, the fourth is the initial letter of Upadhyaya, and the last is the initial letter of Muni -a synonym for Sadhu.
Of the five most worshipful entities called Pañca Parameşthis (Arhat, Siddha, Acarya, Upadhyaya and Sadhu) symbolised in the letter Om, the Arhats are the omniscients who have acquired complete knowledge of all that is, at each and every moment of time-in all their varying forms and conditions-past, present and future.
The Siddhas are omniscient Souls who have got rid of physical bondage, including the karmic body. They are pure perfect Souls, in the positive enjoyment of infinite knowledge and bliss. These
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