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The Unknown Pilgrims
D- Avaśyaka-vidhi: The rite of daily duties
Before dawn, or just when the day begins to break, all is still wrapped in a great silence at the upăśraya; the sadhvis are performing, either singly or together, the vidhi or rite of the avaśyakas by reciting the sutras mentally, by heart, and by making the appropriate gestures.38
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In the evening, after sunset, the same vidhi takes place; the sutras, apart from a few words, are exactly the same, the difference between the vidhi of the dawn and that of the evening being the outward, community aspect of the second.39 This time the sadhvis are grouped around their guruni and they take it in turn to repeat the sutras aloud, by heart and in Prakrit. The gestures are performed together and vary among the sampradāyas.
Certain dosas, or faults, may be committed during the observance of the avaśyakas, arising out of inattention, negligence or other more serious causes.40 In connection with the vandana, the causes of such dosas may be deep-seated, such as lack of respect towards the guruni and ācārya, haughtiness of manner, lack of faith which prevents one perceiving the value of the vandana, contemptuousness which issues in an attitude of disrespect, and disingenuousness that drives one to curry favour with the guruni. There are also less weighty faults that reveal a certain carelessness very disastrous to the ascetic life. These
38 The Mürtipüjāka sädhvis perform this rite separately, the Sthanakavāsis together; cf. P 313 ff. for the meaning of the avaśyakas and Part IV for the sūtras composing the rite and for its structure.
39 During the dawn-time vidhi, the sutras can also be recited aloud, but silence is favourable to recollectedness.
40 Sramans gives a list of 32 doșas in regard to the vandana and 19 doșas in regard to käyotsarga.
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