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Nandyavarta This Nandyavarta is perfect with nine angles. This figure is said to be very efficacious and fruitful. The Nandyavarta with five is invariably worshipped when a Jain icon is installed as a living one, at the auspicious commencement of the swastikas: procession of the community for well-being and four uninterrupted completion of any work undertaken. In
'Achara-Dinkara' and other texts about installation, their major and minor rites are described. Moreover their specimens on stones and cloth pieces are also available. On such cloth pieces the Nandyavarta figure is at the centre and around it there are circles the five supreme being and other gods and goddesess are drawn.
The explanation given for the eight auspicious symbols is given in introduction to symbol number 2. This is the 3th 80. The
of the eight auspicious symbols. holy Pitcher: See explanation for symbol number 2. 81. Group of five See explanation for symbol number 61. Here five Swastikas are combined to form a beautiful design.
swastikas: 82. Gandhary. This demi-god, playing the drum is carved on stone in Jain temples. 83. Arlhant This is the icon of a Tirthankara-Jin in Padmasan in seat of blooming lotus.
figure: 84. The flag
There is a rite of unfurling a flag on the flag mast on the summit of a Jain temple at the time of its inauguration so
that the temple and its installation may be iternal. At every anniversary of the temple the old flag is replaced by a new mast:
one. 85. The sun: From the view point of Jainism the sun is the central planet in the astral group. The various usefulness of the sun is
well-known. Darkness disappears, all routine-work of the world starts, lotuses bloom and grow on sunrise, and all routine works stop on sun-set the sun flowers, the lotuses etc. bloom and develop due to the sun. Poets use widely the sun for giving simile. In astrology it is in the centre. The sun is counted first among the nine prominent planets. The Jain astronomers conceive the sun as andivine aerial car made from a crystal jewel and declare that the light of the jewel comes to the earth. In this aerial car there lives god called Surya. In astronomy the Jain texts differ from the modern scientific beliefs and they place the stars nearest to the earth and then follow the sun, the moon, the planets etc. In the morning many of the non-Jains stand in a particular posture, facing the sun to whom they pay homage. In Jainism, Buddhism and Vedic religion the sun is believed to be a planet-god and rites are prescribed for worship. Mantra recitation and meditation. In Shanti Snatra and other rites of Jainism there is invariable worship of the sun. Jainism holds that the invisible world is crores of times greater than the visible world where there are innumerable islands and oceans in the universe and that the astronomical system is both stationary and dynamic. It holds that there are innumerable suns and moons in the visible and invisible worlds taken together. Jainism holds that mankind occupies two and a half islands in two oceans. These two and a half islands are Jambu Dweepa, Dhataki Khanda and half Pushkarardha Dweepa These three islands are in the two oceans called Lavana and Kalodadhi.These island seas are lacs of yojans big (yojan adistance of about eight miles). The Jain scripture holds that beyond these two and a half islands and the two oceans there are innumerable islands and oceans. The astronomical bodies over the two and a half islands are held to be moving but beyond it the astronomical bodies are stationary. There are no human beings outside these two and a half islands. The Sun temple at Modhera in Gujarat State of India is an ancient monument with excellent sculpture and architecture. According to Jain texts the sun and the moon are both taken to be self-propelled and self-luminous. Like the Sun, this is also a planet and according to Jain scripture it is millions of kms. away from the earth. It is not stationary but it is self-propelled and self luminous. This light emanates from the aerial car of crystal jewel. The sun light is warm and hot while the moon light is cool. The moon which appears dim in the bright sun light is clearly visible after the sun set. Like the sun the moon has been untiringly used by the poets for similies. The face of a waman with calm expression on it is compared with the moon In Sanskrit Poetics such a simile is called khandopama where a part of something is compared with the part or the whole of something.) The importance of Sharad Punam'that is full moon night after the end of the monsoon is due to her cool sweet appearance and her power to impart feeling of calm and happiness to the observers. It is said that the flora on the earth get nourishment from the nectar of the rays emanating from the moon. When the moon rises on the second day in the bright half of the month the Jains, Hindus and Muslims pay
homage to it. 87. The In the species of geese the swan is considered to be the best. Explanatory note is given earlier. The illustration is
swan couple: quite clear. 88. The The Coconut known as Shreefal or Nariel in India is a famous fruit. It is called Shreefal (This Sanskrit word means coconut:
the fruit of wealth) because it is the fruit of Shree i.e. wealth. The fruit is the favourite of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. All Indians have accepted it as an auspicious and respectable fruit. It has different names in different languages. It is called Nariel as it was originally produced in the Naliker island in the South. This Indian fruit, as its very name suggests is an auspicious fruit and so it is used on all religious and social auspicious occasions. When a person is to start on a long journey or when one enters a city or a house a Tilaka mark is made on his forehead and with two hands a coconut is given to him. It is particularly kept in the hands on the occasion of marriage. The coconut is offered at the time of the opening ceremony of a house, a shop or a factory. It is then broken and the pieces of the kernels are eaten by all as this is considered to be a uspicious. It widens the circle of friends. It is given as a gift during festivals. During great festivals Jains distribute coconuts in a large number,
212 in Education International
212 in Education International
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