Notes on Modern Jainism

Author(s): Mrs Sinclair Stevenson
Publisher: Oxford

Page 38

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MODERN JAINISM.
The Svetāmbara call male ascetics Samvegi (2191) and the nuns Garaniji (penoy ), the Sthānakavāsi call the men Mahāpurusa (61434) or Pujya ( Yory) and the women Mahasati (મહાસતી) or A'raja આરજા).
Nuns. The initiation ceremony for a nun is practically the same as for a monk, excepting that the mantra is whispered into her ear by a Sãdhvi (female ascetic ) instead of a Sādhu. Her head too is shaved for the first time, but afterwards when the hair grows it is pulled out hair by hair. This is done about twice a year by one nun for another, and is called Loca (912).* If a woman wishes to become a nun she may do so, but she must first obtain her husband's consent, or, if unmarried or widowed, the consent of her parents or guardians.
In any case she must be well instructed in the tenets of the Jaina faith before she can be “professed," and the instruction should last from six months to two years. At any time before her“ profession” she can go back into the world, and some women seem to take the course of instruction without any intention of becoming nuns.
A woman who had not yet been professed most kindly gave me the following account of her day's routine. About
5 A. M. she rose, and in her own house Daily Life
before sunrise she made confession of the of a Novice.
night's sin (Rāyasi Padikamanum 21477 431570). At sunrise she went to the nuns' house or
When I asked a nun if this did not hurt very much she replied: “Hurt? Of course it does, but what's that compared with the bother and worry of a husband ” !!