Textual Authority in Ritual Procedure: The Śvetāmbara Jain Controversy Concerning Īryāpathikīpratikramaṇa

Paul Dundas

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The ceremony of ¯ırya¯pathikı¯pratikraman: a in which a renunciant or lay
person repents for any violence inflicted on living creatures during motion is one of the central rituals of Jain disciplinary observance. The correct procedure for this ritual and its connection to sa¯ma¯yika, temporary contemplative withdrawal, were discussed during the first millennium CE in the S´ veta¯mbara A¯ vas´yaka literature. The A¯ vas´yaka Cu¯rn: i and the Maha¯nis´¯ıtha Su¯tra offer two alternative orderings, with the former text prescribing that ¯ırya¯pathikı¯pratikraman: a be carried out after sa¯ma¯yika and the latter text recommending that no religious activity should be engaged in without being preceded by ¯ırya¯pathikı¯pratikraman: a. The validity of these apparently contradictory ritual structures was debated by Dharmasa¯gara of the
Tapa¯ Gaccha and Jayasoma of the Kharatara Gaccha in the context of intraS´
veta¯mbara controversy over scriptural hermeneutics in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)327-350
JournalJournal of Indian Philosophy
Volume39
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2011

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • A¯ vas´yaka
  • Pratikramana
  • Repentance
  • Sa¯ma¯yika
  • A¯ vas´yaka Cu¯rn: i
  • Maha¯nis´¯ıtha Su¯tra
  • S´ veta¯mbara Jain sectarianism
  • Dharmasa¯gara
  • Jayasoma

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