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XXXVIII : SĀRĀVALĪ PRAKĪRṆAKA
been classified on the basis of case and difficulty of spiritual practices prescribed therein.
25
The commentator has mentioned four types of tīrtha 25:
1. There are some tīrthas or banks where it is easy to enter and also easy to ford from. Likewise there are some religious orders wherein it is easy to enter and wherein the practice is also easy. The author has mentioned the name of the Saiva (Shaivite) sect as an example of this type because in the Shaivite sect, both, the entry as well as the practice are believed to be easy.
2.
In the second type the entry is easy but fording is difficult. So, in some religious orders it is easy to enter but difficult to practice the faith. Buddhist order has been cited as an example of this type. In the Buddhist order it was easy to enter but the practice was not that easy as it was in the Shaivite sect.
3. In the third type, the tirtha wherein the entry is difficult but fording is easy has been mentioned. In this context, the commentator has mentioned the Acela (naked) sect of the Jaina faith. In this sect the nakedness was essential, so, it was difficult to enter it but having entered it was easy to ford the ocean of mundaneness.
4.
In the fourth type the author has mentioned the religious order in which it was difficult, both, to enter as well as to
Ahava suhottārüttaraṇāl davve cauvviham tittham
Evani ciya bhavammivi tatthäimayam sarakkhāṇami ||
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