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Studies in Jainology, Prakrit
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samadhi are not duly accepted, and yama, niyama, asana, pratyāhāra and dhyana are not expounded to be sequential order in Jaina Yoga. Moreover the yogic concept of Kayotsarga, which is one of the six essentials and an adjunct to many other Yogic modes or means, is unique in Jainism. Kayotsarga means giving up one's body or experiencing one's soul as separate from the body. It is also interpreted as mamatvatyāga. It can be called a preliminary yogic adjunct through which many other higher yogic practices can be successfully accomplished. According to Hemacandra15 kayotsarga is standing silent in meditation without any other activity or movement than the involuntary activities of the body, such as breathing for a definite time until the pañca-namaskāra is recited.' The minimum time prescribed for this is one muhurta (48 minutes). Hemacandra illustrates the ideal kāyotsarga in the following words : 'At dead of night he (the monk) stands in the kayotsarga outside the city wall and the bullocks taking him for a post rub their flanks against his body." An interesting practical exercise, with modern terminology, of kayotsarga is given by Mahāprajnajī in his Jaina yoga. He hopes that the contents of this work would be the media of memory of the forgotten chapters of Jaina Yoga." This means that a lot of research is yet to be undertaken in the field on Jaina Yoga.
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For a complete picture of Jaina yoga our mere acquaintance of works on or concerning yoga will not suffice. We must also know how, from the early times, it was practised and what terms for particular concepts of the existing yogic practices were used. We learn from some cononical works that Lord Mahavira used to be in kayotsarga for meditation, he practised bhndra and other pratimas, he did not take food or water for weeks together and even for months together etc. Such information about different aspects of Jaina yoga, collected on historical principles, viz., in the time and space context, and from varied available sources, I think, would yield encouraging results. Keeping this in view, I would venture to tap the sources of the Jaina stories. For the purpose of both the time and space contexts, I would pick up
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