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Celebrating Jain Society of Houston Pratishtha Mahotsav 1995
as to suggest certain garments and will provide ornamentation by, for example, using crystal for the eyes. In either case, the image now becomes the object of regular worship by members of the community.
These three provide the means of escape from the cycle of bondage represented by the swastika. Finally, at the very top, he makes a small crescent with a dot mounted upon it; thus is suggested the uppermost portion of the universe, with the liberated soul resting just within its edge. The completed figures appears below.
The importance of the occasional panca-kalyanamahotsav, and of the temple images consecrated thereby, should not blind us to the fact that much of Jain lay practice occurs beyond the confines of the temple. Many homes have their own shrines, complete with small Jain images; so it is within the household that the daily rituals of the devout layperson are often carried out. A Jain is advised to awaken before dawn and immediately recite the five solutions of the Namokara-mantra. He should then ponder his religious duties, reminding himself to adhere closely to whatever vratas he has taken and to strive towards the eventual taking of those which he has not. Having bathed and donned newly washed clothing, he is likely to sit in his household shrine and begin the day in a holy manner by performing devapuja. Other rituals may also be regularly carried out at home; hence the role of the temple in the religious life of a Jain community, while very important, is by no means exclusive.
By forming these symbols prior to actual worship of the Tirthankar, one shows that his puja has as its ultimate purpose the attainment of liberation. Such preliminaries completed, he performs the sthapana or abhisheka ceremony, in which holy water is sprinkled over a small image placed near the foot of the main one for this purpose. The water thus used for "bathing" the Jina must first have been strained and made pure, either by boiling or by the use of a "sterilizing" substance such as cloves. (It is thought
The Devapuja Ritual
Specific customs pertaining to devapuja, especially when it is practiced within a temple, vary among Jain sects. This is especially true for the Digambars, whose southern majority has developed a relatively elaborate form of the ritual. Such elaboration is to be expected in view of the role played by the JainBrahmans within this group, since increased complexity of any ceremony can only render their presence more essential.
that nonsterile water still harbors water bodies; its use would therefore entail violence, making it unfit for a sacred act). While engaging in abhisheka, the devotee visualizes himself as Sakra (a sandalwood paste mark on his forehead signifies this role); thus his action becomes, as, in the panca-kalyana ceremony, a re-enactment of the baby Jina's ritual bath atop Mount Meru. After the holy water, he pours sandalwood paste and milk over the image; the latter substance reminds him of the pure, milky-white color which suffuses the Jina's body as he sits in the samavarasana. The abhisheka is concluded with purified water and a shower of blossoms.
But certain fundamental features characterize the performance of devpuja for all sects. As a Jain enters the temple, he typically wears only three simple pieces of clothing and carries a plate filled with flowers, fruit, camphor, uncooked rice, and incense. Having approached the main shrine, he will bow down, utter the Namokar litany, and circumambulate the image three times (keeping the Tirthankar always to his right). He then sits on a mat before the image and, using rice grains, forms a Swastika on a plate or a wooden plank. (This ancient symbol, as we have seen, signifies the four possible samsaric destinies). Above it he places three dots, standing for the "three jewels" (ratnatraya): true insight (samyak-darsana), right knowledge (samyakgnana), and proper conduct (samyak-charitra).
Thereafter, the worshipper wipes the image dry and begins the second phase of devapuja, a ritual called arcana. Invoking the name of a particular Tirthankar represented, he pays homage by offering up eight substances: (1) water (jala), for the attainment of cleanliness; (2) sandalwood paste (chandana), for the-attainment of purity; (3) uncooked rice (aksata), for the attainment of immortality; (4) flowers (pushpa), for the attainment of freedom from passion; (5) sweets (charu), for the attainment of contentment; (6) lamp or camphor light (dipa), for the attainment of omniscience; (7) incense (dhupa), for the attainment of great fame; (8) fruits (phala), for the attainment of the fruit of liberation, Moksha. Next, small amounts of all eight substances are offered together on a single plate; this gesture, called arghya, completes the second portion of the puja.
"Peace cannot be kept by force. True peace can only be achieved by understanding”
(Author Unknown)
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