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MINOR VOWS OF COUNTRY AND CONCENTRATION
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the country is the vow of abstinence with regard to country, As in the previous instance, the householder practising this vow must be considered to observe the great vows beyond his region of activity. That, which leads to sin without any advantage, is purposeless sin. Desisting from such activity is to be free from purposeless sin. Purposeless sin is of five kinds, namely evil thought, preaching of sin, negligent activity, giving of hurtful things, and listening to undesirable stories. Wishing how others may suffer from victory, defeat, punishment, bondage, mutilation, confiscation of all possessions and 80 on, is evil thought. Preaching sin is using words which incite others to cause sufferings to animals, to pursue commerce and activities causing injury to living beings and so on. Intoxicated activity is cutting trees, digging the earth, sprinkling water and so on, without any purpose. Giving hurtful things such as poison, thorns, weapons, fire, rope, whip, stick and so on is the fourth kind. The fifth kind is listening to or teaching of stories which provoke injury, lust, etc.
The preposition 'sam' means one state of being. For instance, ghee becomes one with the thing mixed. Similarly oil also. To become one is samaya. That, which has oneness as its object, is sāmāyikan. One attains the great vows when one practises sāmāyika (concentration) at a particular place and time, since one is free from minute and gross injury and so on. It is argued that it would be perfect restraint and discipline (samyama). But it is untenable, as there is the presence of karmas or passions which arrest complete restraint. In that case these should not be called great vows. No. These are called great vows figuratively, a. Chaitra is said to be present everywhere in the royal household.
The word proşadha? refers to the holy days in the lunar month. Abstaining from the pleasures of the five senses such as sounds and dwelling in the self in deep concentration is
1 This is similar to the previous one with this difference that this limits the field of activity still further than in the case of dikurata. Besides dikurata is taken for one's lifetime, whereas deśavrata is taken for shorter periods.
9 Prosadha: the eighth and the fourteenth days of a fortnight, the bright balf and the dark half of the lunar month.
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