6. Religious routine of the Jains

(6) DAILY AND OCCASIONAL RELIGIOUS ROUTINE OF THE JAINS—In his Savaga-vihi (Sravaka-vidhi), Dhanapala has laid down an ideal daily religious routine for a Jain householder. An enumeration of the points of the routine are interesting, especially due to their comparative value with reference to the TM. The salient features of the routine are as follows: hi (1) He should mutter the Navakara 81. TM(N),p.31(lff.) --- --- aranimandhau havirbhujah pitarau --- 1 82. ibid. p.63(22) - arabdha nirbiccheda samtanika karmma kamya krtu salam - 1 83. ibid.,p.112(lff.) sarvatah sulabha vighnod mah kamyakriya rambhah-- 1 84. ibid,p.64 (3ff.) -- aha rahah srotriyavisrana nartha mahiya mana na kunda pari- bhanda-parimalo hanina- gavamutkarnavarnaka nusrtabhih parasa paramparabhi sampuryamana bahya- ;78 (3££.)-- chatva samaropita bharanah kaksantaram -- savatsah sahasrasi gah suvarna ca pracuramarambhanihsprhebhyo viprebhyah | AIAIIARB¬I 114 (22ff.) sampujya vastradyati sarjanena dvijati lokam - 1 85.1bid.,p.181 (22ff.) esa darsasira sahasrasamitasima suryagrahana parvani purvamaya vajrjito . mamdiravati devya devagraharah--- 1 86. ibid.,p.173 (19ff.) pratisya krtasaparyana dvijanmana masisam-- 1 87. SV, vss.1-18. --- --⭑

1 614 Mantra and remember the five Anuvratas just after waking up in the morning; (ii) After washing hands and feet and, having thus become purified, he should cover up his mouth and wash the household images of the Jinas, offer them unguents, flowers, incense and salutation, and then he shouk ld undertake Paccakhana; (iii) Then again, having dressed well and with incense, rice grains and flowers in hand, he should go to the public Jain temple leaving aside all household chores; (iv) Having put off all the ornaments at the porch, he should enter the temple with only a couple of garments on and uttering 'Jaya Jaya' and with his mouth covered up. he should bow down after circumambulating the image of the Tirthankara thrice, and offer incense etc., to the image, salute the Munis and utter the Paccakkhana again in their presence, and with bid them good-day and listen to their discourse; (v) He should perform household duties scrupulously avoiding the fifteen undesirable activities; (vi) At the lunch time he should again worship the household images with flowers, incense and offering of food, should give alms to destitutes and beggars and then only should he take his lunch with the members of his family; (vii) In the evening he should take his supper before the Sunset and should insist upon the members of his family

615 to do the likewise; (viii) At night he should again worship the household images and recollect his faults committed during the day in respect of his vows about delimitation of wealth, distance, injury to living beings, and etc.; (ix) He should enjoy the sense objects only on selected days and should always think about the unhappiness in this state of human existence, and its being the only opportunity to strive to ga disentangle oneself from the cycle of births and deaths. In this light, the routine followed even by the most devout of his characters like Meghavahana, Harivahana, Tilakamanjari and others in his TM is not so typically Jainistic. King Meghavahana, though he is supposed to be a devout Jain, worships the goddess sri, though he also offers his salutations to the Tirthankaras like Rsabha and others at Sakravatara. Similarly, Prince Harivahana, though an ardent devotee of the Tirthankara Rsabha, propitiates the Vidya-devatas, of course for the sake of the Vidyadhara Anangarati. Some of the principal characters, both males and females are sometimes indicated as worshipping their private images in the morning, at mid-day and in the evening, though it has nowhere been specified that the images 88 88. TM(N), pp.35(2); 173(15); 173(20ff.); 177(9); 413(14).

616 were of the Jinas; rather they seem to have been of their 89 90. family deities. Nowhere has the poet described any of hais characters ever bathing the images in the Jain temples and offering sandal paste and etc., to them. Their meetings with the Jain Munis are accidental. On the other hand, Tilakamanjari has been shown to be worshipping none else but Lord Rsabha only, though her daily routine has nowhere been specified. In the case of all principal characters of the TM, Dhyana and Japa seem to have been a daily routine. The typical Jainistic aspect of worship was 91 covering up of the mouth while performing the worship. Bathing the image, offering unguents, incense and perfumes and reciting devotional hymns seem to have been the standard way of offering worship to the images, both private and public, of the Jain Tirthankaras. Their worship was deemed to be the only panacea for ridding them off the cycle of 92. transmigratory existence. The hymns to the Tirthankaras were intended to be a powerful instrument of generating intensity in disaffection for worldly pleasures.95 Dhanapala 89. TM(N),p.63(19); 198(9ff.); 352(22). 90. ibid.,p.408(4ff.). 91. cf. ibid., p.34(7ff.) pallavana mudrita mukhah ----- 1. aga tyayatanamuttama aghatitagrandhinottariya- 92. ibid., p.217(14ff.)-34239545749 agadha bhavajala dhi se tubandha stha P pratimam mukti- sukhaika karana khya - 754972 1; 275 (15) -- 93. ibid.,p.218(14) bhagavato mahavira jinavarasya janmamaranarnava vartta vartti jantu nikucha mbaika lambana bimbam-- 1 samvega vistarana patiyasibhih stutibhih-- |

617 has referred to twofold worship, which might refer either to the mental and external physical worship or to the priworship of the vate and public/images.■ 94 Some of the Jainistic practices are the emphasis on observance of fasts, wearing bark garments, subsisting on fruits and roots, and worship of the deity, i,e., the Tirthankara, thrice a day, as in the case of Malayasundari. King Meghavahana's routine, though not in connection with the worship of the Jina, consisted of living in a cottage, bathing thrice a day, subsisting on limited food just sufficient to support the body, sleeping on a bed of Kusa grass, observance of the procedural worship as instructed by the Muni and of the non-transgressionary vows and abstinence from sensual pleasures. During the period of Meghavahana's vow, his queen Madiravati was asked by the vidyadhara Muni to keep away from the king, help him in the worship, abstain from physical comforts and luxuries and It is possible that some women sing devotional hymns. 97 94. TM(N),p.369(23ff.) nadasya pujamu 1 dviprakarammapi vidhaya bhuvanatraya gurora diyuga- 95. 1b 1d., p. 348(3) - krtavrataniyamopavasa tatvagvasana dharini kandaphala- trikala marcayanti devam-- 1 mulasana 96. ibid.,p.35 ( 10 ) -- parnasala krtasthiteritra kala svayinah parimita phalahara- paripalita sarirasya kusanalpasayino munisamupadistena vidhina vratampatya- palaya to grhita brahmacarya vratasya samtatinibandhanama jaticara -- 97. cf. ibid., p.31(20ff.).

618 also observed the vow of abstaining from contact with men at least for a specified duration. 98 Great emphasis was naturally laid on penance, observance of various types of vows, purity of personal conduct and character, and on the worship of the image of the Tirthankaras. It was not necessary to retire to the forest in order to undertake penance. Various vos stipulated under instructions from reliable saints like the Vidyadhara Muni were in themselves considered to be sufficient penance for householders.99 It was but a preliminary precondition that one who aspired for Final Emancipation must needs discard all desires for sensual delight. 'Penance 100. was deemed capable of achieving the unattainables, 101 and the Jain Munis were, most probably on account of their severe penances, looked upon as veritable treasures of mental tranquility. A few typically Jainistic religious aspects referred to by Dhanapala are Dharmavasana, Anaticara or Niraticara, 98. cf.ibid.,p. 169 (13) - purusa samprayoga pariharavratastha palayanti--- 1 samaptikalam prati 99. cf. ibid, p. 30 (6ff.) muncaranya gamana sprham| grhavasthita evam kuru devata samgha nama | an gikuru muni pratakriyam aptoya desapratipanna nana vrtaih vidyadharaih p.236(8) --- ___| 100. ibid.,p.355(11ff.)-- 35 555 STAR 19 C 25- mumusumatiriva mandamadhya nabhinandita divya- rasapana bhojana 229977970777T ----| 101. ibid.,p.14(5ff.) 102. cf.ibia., p. 14 (2) -1 tapomaya jhva sadhya sadhanesu - sarvamunibhiriva nirmitosasamah .....

619 Arcana of Pratimas, Abhiseka-mangala, Stutis of the Tirthankaras and Diksa. 103 Various types of penances are listed in connection with the Vidyadharas who are depicted as followers of Ja- 104 These peinism, and were engaged in practising them. nances were undertaken by pure-hearted Vidyadharas of all classes and castes, who had left all other works and had retired to the forest near the Mount Ekasrnga. The motive behind their penances was the attainment of supernatural powers. Some of them lived on river banks, some in the mountain caves, some in the underground caverns and some in the cottages of creepers. Some of them had renounced food while others subsisted on fruits and roots. Some engaged in Panca-tapah-sadhana; some submerged themselves under water upto the neck; some tied themselves upside E down to the branch of a tree and inhaled smoke of the fire kindled under them; some fixed their gaze on the solar disk; some went on muttering mystic formulae; some took to keeping mum; some took to the vow of non-violence, and others abstained from bodily enjoyments. 103. TM(N),pp.20(17); 35(12); 412(3); 412(8ff.); 269(4ff.); 218(9ff.); 416(10ff.); 24(11).. 104. ibid.,pp.235-236. RBS.

620 It is really surprising that not once has the poet referred to, even in passing, to such basically essential and typically Jainistic aspects of religious worship such as the Navskara Mantra, Anuvratas, Samayika, Padikamana, Kausagga, Paccakkhana, Pajjusana, Samvatsari, Siddhacakra, the three Guna-vratas, the four Siksa-vratas and the eleven Pratimas. 105