Jainism

Author(s): N R Guseva
Publisher: Sindu Publications P L

Page 92

JAINISM
formed one month in a year. In general, the Jain law prescribes mourning the death of an ascetic for not more than a minute, of Kshatriya not more than five days, of Brahmin not more than 10 days, of Vaishya not more than 12 days, and of Shudra not more than 15 days.
All these rites are performed in different regions of India with different degree of relativity, since for the most part, these
tes were introduced in Tain practice in medieval period and were borrowed mainly from Hinduism.
Jains are liable to expulsion from the community for committing murder, adultery, falsehood, stealing and for amorous affairs with non-Jains.
Jain ascetics must lead the life of a wanderer, not living in one place for more than a month (only in the rainy season they can live in one place up to four months). They must move about only on foot and only during daylight. In the dark period of the day and night they must not walk and must not eat also, because being unable to see, they may crush or swallow some insect.
Amongst Digambaras, ascetics are divided in three classes, anuvrata, mahavrata and nirvana. To be an anuvrata, it is necessary to leave the family, to clean-shave the head, to give up holy thread and live at the temple. An anuvrata must dress himself in clothes of saffron colour and must always carry with him earthen vessel for alms. While moving about, he must sweep the road before him with a bunch of peacock feathers (so as not to crush some insects).
The mahavrata ascetics may wear only loin-cloth. The hair on his head are pulled out from their roots by his pupils. He must eat rice only once in a day on his palm.
The nirvana ascetic must be always nude, eat rice, placed in his palm by somebody and must not move after sunset.24 His hair is also pulled out from the roots by his pupils (for this custom, even the Buddhists ridiculed Jains, saying that they thus violate their own concept of not subjecting living beings to evil and pain).
Shvetambara ascetics differ in that they wear white dress, bind their mouths with white stripes (according to one ex
14. M. Mackenzie, Account of the Jains.