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Cosmic and Purificatory Rite
709
recitation of the Namaskāra-sūtra,52 I abstain 53 from the four types of nutriments: cooked foods; liquids; fresh and dried fruits or other snacks; betelnut, cardamom and other spices;54 excepting involuntarily or by dire constraint, 55 I renounce [these foodstuffs and any form of drink]."56
The divasacarima-sutra: sutra (of total abstinence) from sunset to sunrise
"I (promise) that for the last part of the days7 I abstain from the four types of nutriments..."
32 The muhurta: 48 mins is not mentioned in the text, but is understood; the fast is broken after the recitation of the Namaskāra-sútra.
53 Paccakkhămi: I refuse, I reject; here it refers to abstinence from food and drink, including water.
54 Betelnut and cardamom are astringent spices that help digestion and purify the mouth; if they are offered to the sādhvis, they may accept them.
55 Exception are only countenanced if they are involuntary or inevitable; e.g. in the case of a sudden downpour of rain, if one imbibes a few drops; this is not considered to break the fast.
36 sūre uggae ņamokkārasahitam paccakkāti cauvviham pi āhāram asaņam panāṁ khāimam sāimam annath' anábhogenaṁ sahasākārenaṁ vosirati. Avas 96. The original text uses the 3rd person, but the sūtra is recited at sunrise by the guruņi and each sādhvi replies: "vosiråmi", I renounce.
57 Cf. Ava$ 103. Divasacarima: the last part of the day or of one's life; cf. SramanS pp. 332-333; here it is a question of the promise of total abstinence during the night (P 331 in). It is only these two forms of pratyākhyāna that are obligatory for the sādhvis.
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