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Jaina Ethics and Miscellaneous Customs and Manners
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superstitions, it is evident that the Jainas might have adopted them from the Hindus.
12. JAINA SAMSKARAS The life of a Jaina layman is regulated by various ceremonies through which he has to pass right from his conception upto his death. These ceremonies are prescribed by religion with a view that a layman would lead a life in accordance with the religious principles and attain the main aim of final liberation. Since religion wants that the ceremonies should be performed at proper times, they are known as Saṁskāras or Sacraments. Such ceremonies are not uniform in the main sects of the Jainas and further many of them differ in their details from province to province. Without going deep into the differences we shall observe, in brief, their main features.
The two principal sects of the Jainas, namely the Digambaras and the Svetāmbaras, prescribe different ceremonies for their adherents even though their main aim is the same. According to the Digambaras, a śrā vaka, that is, a layman, has to pass through the fifty-three ceremonies mentioned in their sacred book Adi-purāņa.181 They are as follows : (1) Ādhāna or Garbhādhāna : i.e., conception-ceremony, is
performed before a woman conceives. When a woman attains puberty, she and her husband should go to the temple and perform worship in the prescribed manner. After this Ādhāna ceremony the pair should cohabit at night only for the sake of progeny and not for sexual
attachment. (2) Prīti : is performed in the third month after the con
ception. In this worship, music, etc. should be perform
·ed to keep the pregnant woman delightful. (3) Suprīli : The above ceremonies should be performed
in the fifth month after conception. (4) Dhrti : The same should be performed, in the seventh
month, for the sake of the child to be born. (5) Moda : It consists in the writing of the primary letters
37 fH 3TT 3 T on the body of the pregnant woman in the ninth month.
