________________
150
Study of Civakacintamani
Though the ladies in the palace try to attract him, he decides to renounce the world. After rejecting the desires in pleasures he goes to the temple where he meets. the two carapas who instruct him in the Jaina doctrine and tell him the story about his previous birth.
In the last three pratimas Civakan prepares himself for the life of an ascetic. He renouces all his passions and his kingdom and goes to his spiritual guide Crivartamāna cuvamikal and performs penance.
The ascetic life of Civakan and the attainment of his liberation are mainly explained through the answer of the ascetic Cutanmar to the questions put to him by the king Cênikan abont Civakan. The rules an ascetic should observe preached by the carapan who instructed Jaina doctrine to Civakan.
When one renounced all worldly attachments, he reaches the sixth gupasthana, the pramatta samyata gupasthäna and the ascetic's life starts from here. He is expected to observe five maha-vratas (absolute vows) which correspond to the five aṇuvratas (partial vows) of a householder. The five aqu-vratas are made as Bhargava says, "keeping in view the social obligations of a householder", but, maha-vratas are unconditional and absolute. Non-violence, truth, non-stealing, celibacy and nonpossession are expected to be observed without any restriction by an Malacara, the basic text dealing with the conduct of digambara monks, gives the following twenty eight qualities which a monk should be endowed with."
ascetic.
1-5. 6-10, 11-15.
16-21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
Five absolute vows (Pañca-mahā-vratas) Five-fold path of vigilance (Pañcasamitis)
Control of five senses (indriya jaya) Six essential duties (adavalyakas) Pulling out of the hair (kebaluncana) Nudity
Non-bathing
Sleeping on the ground
Not cleaning the teeth.
Jain Education International
Taking food in standing posture
Eating only once in twenty four hours (Ekabhakta)
Observing all these twenty eight qualities, an ascetic is also expected to perform penance in order to get rid of his accumulated karmas and to check the inflow of the new karmas. 6 These penances are of two kinds, external and internal. In external
1 Cc. v. 2732
2 Ibid, vv. 2925-2952
3 Ibid, v. 3040. Ref. also the commentary of Naccinaṛkkiniyar on the Cc. v. 3040. 4 Bhargava, op.cit. p. 152
5
pp. 150, 151
6 Ts. 9:3
7 Ibid, 9, 19-20
"1
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
