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Samvatsari Pratikramana
321
one can get the benefit of such higher austerity only if one has not consumed any food or water and has accepted such higher vow. If after having the first meal in a biyasnu, one is not desirous of having the second meal, one could possibly accept the vows of Tivihar, but it certainly cannot be called ekasnu.
In all pacchakkhans, if one has consumed water and thereafter one is desirous of accepting a higher vow, one can accept 'Dharna Abhigraha Pacchakkhan'.
After accepting a vow, one can possibly accept higher vows, but in no circumstances, however dire, can one go below the accepted vow so long as one's mental stability is maintained.
It is exponentially beneficial to accept the vows of more than one Tivihar or Chauvihar upvas at once, depending on one's capacity. However one is not permitted to accept vows for more than 16 upvas at once. Similarly, one is not permitted to fast consecutively for more than 180 days.
By virtue of being Jain, there are some sins that one will possibly never commit in his/her lifetime. One should pledge to never commit such sins and accept vows for the same in order to avoid being bound by demerit/paap karma. Even when one does not commit a sin, one still gets bound by it if he/she has not given up the possibility of committing that sin. Such a possibility is given up only when one accepts the vows. By not accepting the vows, one stands to bear the horrendous consequences of such sins (despite not having committed them).
Sins worth giving up:
7 addictions: Mutton, alcohol, gambling, having relations with man/woman other than one's own husband/wife, stealing, hunting and prostitution.
