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Jaina Ethics and Miscellaneous Customs and Manners
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śraya is the central place of the community and its construction and maintenance charges are borne by the laymen.129 As the Sthānakavāsis do not have temples, they perform their religious duties generally in Upāśrayas.130 (C) Chaityālayas :
Chaityālayas are the places where the religious duties are performed by Tāranapanthis, the followers of a non-idolatrous subsect of Digambaras. The meaning of Chaityālaya, according to them, is Granthālaya, that is, the library. In the middle of the Chaityālaya is erected a pulpit and on it the fourteen books of Taranasvāmi, the founder of Taranapantha, are placed. Since Tarapapanthis do not have temples, Chaityālaya serves as their central place. 131
10. FESTIVALS AND FASTS
Many festivals and fasts are observed by the Jainas. Festivals are performed to commemorate the important events of the past and the fasts are undertaken for self-purification. Both festivals and fasts are intended to divert the attention of laymen from their worldly activities to their ultimate goal. They serve to strengthen the devotion of laymen to spiritual uplift. Just as visits to the sacred places create a deep impression on the minds of people, similarly the observance of various festivals and fasts reminds the people of their main objective in life. The festivals and fasts: are observed mainly as religious ceremonies. According to Jaini'sm the religious ceremonies are to be performed at the proper time and place which are determined through the help of astronomy. The knowledge of astronomy is one of the principal accomplishments of a Jaina priest and it is the duty of a Jaina priest to ascertain the proper time and place for all religious ceremonies.132 The number of Jaina festivals and fasts is quite large and hence we shall describe in brief the most important of them. (i) Paryūshana or Daśalakshaņa Parva :
It has already been noticed that in Jaina religion more significance has been attached to the practice of austerities and tasting is one of the main ways of performing austerities. Various fasts have been prescribed for Jainas and among them the fast of Paryu
