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Aryikās: Thc Digambara Sādhvis
639
Relaxations in the rules of austerity followed by the āryikās, when applicd to the kşullikās, are as follows:
- they have an extra garment, a blouse or cădara (a cotton scarf);
- they use for their meals a pātra, their own or one belonging to the śrāvakas;
- they are permitted to cut their hair every two, three or four months instead of it being plucked out;
- they are permitted to wear sandals for walking and to use a bus or other means of locomotion for their movement from place to place. In all other respects they follow the same rules of life as the āryikās. 20
When a kşullikā by means of a new dikşă becomes an āryikā, she must change her ācārya, if the one upon whom she is dependent has no āryikā in his group, and take her place in a new group. She either keeps her name or receives a fresh one.
On account of the austerity required in this state of life, certain girls who do not have strong enough constitutions to become kşullikās ask to be received as brahmacāninis; these retain their virginity and observe the pratimās, but in a more partial manner than do the kşullikās. Some of them arc attached to a group of kşullikās, others to a group of äryikās, cither living with the group or in their own homes, as circumstances dictate.
iii) The samgha today
The āryikās are natives of Madhya Pradeśa (the district of Sāgara), of Uuara Pradeśa, with one single āryikā coming from Karṇataka, from Sravana Belgola itself. The kşullikās come mostly from Māhārastra and Karnataka. The āryikās and kşullikās of today belong 10 the Sarasvatigaccha which has direct links with Acārya Kundakunda.
20 Ibid., p. 67. Kșullika Sri Guņamati replied in writing to some of my questions,
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