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208
The Unknown Pilgrims
constitutes just a stage; once this stage is concluded, birth in a human body will usher in the final stage which, through the practice of asceticism, will lead to Liberation and perfect well-being. This is the goal of which the statues of the arhats remind us. Moreover, among all the exuberance, we find in the temple of Säntinātha one single inscription mentioning an āryikā, which is an almost certain indication that other äryikās also passed that way. This inscription is on the pedestal of an image of a jina and records that: the fifth day of the bright fortnight of măgha (January-February) of saṁvat 1215 (1158), Pandita Sri Rājanandi of the Deśigana, his disciple Sri Manukirti and Āryikā Meku Śri paid continual homage to Lord Abhinandana 210
c) The Aterasākhă
This sākhā, which takes its name from Ațera, a town of Madhya Pradeśa, was a dependency of the Balātkāragana. Among the documents one finds the names of certain äryikās of the XVth and XVIth centuries; they were probably of that region or of neighboring provinces:
-The fifth day of the bright fortnight of phālguna (February-March) of samvat 1531 (1475), Bhattāraka Siṁhakirti installed a kalikundayantra for kşullika Śri Āgama Śri.211
- The second day of the dark fortnight of śrāvana (July-August) of saṁvat 1621 (1565), the names of Aryā Šri Cáritra Śri and of her disciple Guņasundari are mentioned in connection with a
210 Abhinandanasvaminam nityam pranamanti, Jsilalekh Sam, vol. 5, inscr. 100, p. 47; Abhinandana is the 4th tirthankara
211 BhattSamp, No 308; pp. 126; 132. Yantra: a diagram made by tracing one or several mantras, syllables or words possessing supernatural power, positioned according to exact rules, generally inside a circle or some other geometrical figure. Yantras are often engraved in brass. They are used, in accordance with a specified ritual, at a certain moment in the pūjā, at the erection of a statue, at a dikşi and on other ceremonial occasions. Of the most important yantras, we are familiar with 48; cf. JSK III, p. 358. This practice is restricted to the Digambaras and is probably due to Tantric influence; cf.P656, n.57.
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