A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V Y
S
Sādhu Lit. ‘with (sā) + dhi (= buddhi), knowledge. Somebody who is fully compassionate and who would never do anything harmful to the self/soul or to other creatures. Sādhus can be from any religion, but oriented towards the soul with self restraint, never lost in worldly gains or charms.
Prakrit resp. vernacular: viewing the real and adopting the real: the soul (not the body). When one views the soul at death karmas (including nokarmas) are depleted side by side while the body weight is also depleted by enhancing self-reservation. To outsiders it appears fasting to death and painful, but the sallekhi feels the bliss of having rid themselves of the burden of karma.
The one who undergoes sallekhana
Keeping equanimity for physical suffering during the processes of dying. Synonym for sallekhana
Samavasarāṇa (Samausaran). (Susā)
Congregation locality, assembly of the Jina arranged by Kubera (Kuvera), the god of divine wealth, with seats apportioned for gods, men and animals to hear the sermon which the Jina delivers after enlightenment. It means a place where all have a common opportunity of acquiring the wisdom divine, or, in alternative, where the souls get the opportunity to attain to dispassion and finally salvation.
The smallest unit of time; also called soul. Even if soul-realized for one samaya then one is about to reach liberation.
Right, proper. Samyak darśana, samyak jñāna (or gyan) and samyak caritra (charitra) are right vision, right knowledge and right conduct.
To retain equanimity of soul in all odd circumstances. Apart from that samayik has to be done three times a day by ascetics and even by lay people; One who practices Sāmāyik.
Equating the three remaining aghati karmas with ayukarma during lokapuran (the ‘whirl’ of the soul) by a kevali. When the soul has reached the 13th guṇasthāna and the karma which determined its lifespan is almost exhausted the soul suddenly stretches out from the body to the very top of the Universe, and down to the bottom like a stick (daṇḍa) of 14 rajjus, a measure in Jain (and other) cosmo-geography, then stretches out two-dimensionally like a ‘door’ (kapāt – folded sheet) which stretches out into a sheet (pratar) touching every surface and then finally transforms into a whirl (Lokapurana) touching every point in the Universe. Then vice versa back, in eight samayas or less than the wink of an eye, into the body of the ascetic.
Apprehension of the pure nature of the self [jīva], stoppage of karmas, the prevention of incoming karmas. (Susā) Bondage (bandha) to karmas will persists] as long as the root cause, identification of the self with karmas persists, psychic activity to wrong belief, wrong knowledge and wrong conduct is not cut at the root.
Group of sadhus (Sadhu, Aryikas, Ellak, Kśullak, Brahmācārya, śravakas and śravikas)
Leader monk of the saṅgha
Universe (Loka) also called Triloka, within which exist the six eternal components uniformly throughout: space, the souls, matter, time, medium of motion and medium of rest. The shape of this universe is described as that of a headless man standing with his stretched legs sideways with his hands on his waist; or also as a palm tree.
The Śvetambar (= white-dressed – not nude) Jain word for samādhimaran or sallekhana
Feline, tiger- or lion-like animal adorning sacred places, referring to the making of the Oṁkāra sound [the sacred and mystical syllable Om, pronouncing Om, pronouncing the syllable Om] shown in the Indus script as symbol for path of the Jina. Hundreds of śarduls are often carved encircling temple walls. Many seals show Bahūbali playing with śarduls and one is showing that he made his brother Bharata falling head down on the ground, which inspired him to quit the world to go for the religious life of penance.
The goal or desired end for the soul, a location at the top of the Triloka sanasthāna, above all heavens but below Siddhaloka. In the snake-ladder game (see pictures in the text) a ‘moon-boat’ below the flat moon is drawn. Above this ‘moon’ is Siddhaśila
Place where souls reaches just before nirwāṇa, having reached every achievement, situated just below Siddhaloka.
Satlekhana see Sallekhana
An ancient language or dialect from which north-western Hindi in India developed. It is the language of the Digambara Jains since the Tirthankara Mahavira, more that 2500 years ago (and before) in which the Digambara Jain scriptures are written. Even today Digambar acaryas can read and are taught this language.
Self restrainer See svasanyāmi (ascetic or layperson)
Fully accomplished and liberated souls having pure knowledge without body and who never return to mundane existence – separated from it like purified butter from milk. Even Siddhas are always progressing, knowledge is always increasing. Ātma [Self] is pure energy totally different from any manifested energy.
Devotion towards the liberated souls have freed themselves from all karma/ mundane pollution.
The section at the very top of the Universe (Loka) where the liberated souls reside and into which our soul will enter at the moment of reaching nirwāṇa. The rest of loka is occupied by non-liberated beings. Even liberated beings can not go beyond this location into alokākāśa, the space beyond the Universe because there exist no eternal components of going or movement.
Siddha śila (Siddhashila) Imaginary ‘rock’ at the extreme periphery of the Universe, above which reside the pure souls.
Mountain in the Indian state of Jhārkhand. There twenty of the twenty-four Tīrthaṅkaras and countless sadhus have reached salvation. Place of pilgrimage with sacred sites for each of the Tīrthaṅkaras and others. It is the main pilgrimage site for Jains.
Six eternal components See Dravya(s)
Sixteen cause reflections which lead a soul to Tīrthaṅkarahood
1) Pure unshaded darśan viśuddi (= pure unshaded right belief); 2) humility; 3) śila- absolute purity in character; 4) absolute application of knowledge in the interest of spiritual elevation; 5) saṃvega = compassion for each living being as ‘me’ (realization that I have been that in one life also); 6) doing austerity up to the maximum of one’s limit; 7) Up to the maximum limit tyag = giving up things (but never the body); 8) Sādhu samādhimaram one has the duty to serve the sallekhis; 9) Service to sages or highly placed pious souls on his path of salvation; 10) arhat bhakti; 11) āchārya bhakti; 12) bahuśrut (scriptures) devotion; 13) If there is any lecture of the scriptural texts one should pay devotion and listen; 14) Sincerity for performance of six awaśakas; 15) Preaching of the right path itself; 16) Devotion to those who advocate or preach or mention the right path of salvation like a mother cares for her child; 16) Affinity to the preachers.
A game in which the snake symbolizes anger, and the ladder is the guṅasthāna ladder. The game represents the world before us, how we when we face frustration and set-backs loose our temper and degrade ourselves, and how we feel happy again with a little gain, again degrading ourselves. With equanimity and reasoning we catch the ladder or may get it much later and miss it. But when keeping alert when the ladder comes closer we run to safety; gradually a day will come for salvation if efforts are made in the right direction.
Jain ascetic who, withdrawing himself from the world and makes every effort to uplift the soul. They exist in three grades in Digambara Jainism: 1) munis, who are totally nude; 2) ellaks, who wear only a loin cloth; 3) kṣullaks, who wear a loin cloth and a shawl around their shoulder. All these are males. Among the females there are āryikās as nuns and kṣullikas as high grade śravikās.
The (always male) leader of the śramanas in a group of sadhus (distinguished from Saṅghācārya in that only sages (6th level sages, sometimes also 7th level) are considered (not brahmāchāryas, ellaks, etc.)
Sravana Belagola (Sramana Belagola)
Town in Karnataka where are on two mountains Vindhyāgiri and Chandragiri many Indus scripts are found. The mountains were in use by monks already before the days of Emperor Chandragupta, who became a Jain Sādhu in the last part of his life. The monolithic 18 meter high granite image of Sri Gommateśvar/ Bahūbali standing on the top of the mountain and connected to the bedrock more than a thousand years back is now taken as one of the wonders of the world.
Householder who serves the saṅgha.
Female householder who serves the saṅgha.
Knowledge gained from outside, external sources (by guru, scripture, or reasoning).
Scriptural, external or logic based knowledge
A Hindi – English – Jain Dictionary, ed. Dr. Rameh Chand Jain, Sanganer RJ, 1999, frequently used for reference during the composition of the present Kosh (glossary).
The highest degree of dharma dhyāna. 1 to 4 ever dharma dhyānas fourth is śukla dhyāna.
Sumeru see Meru
A person who has undergone self-restraint.
Symbol of the four Gatis. The four points denote the location of the soul in the particular Gati of mundane existence. The center is the point from which salvation is reached.
Literally: white clad. The Śwetambara tradition of Jainism traces its lineage through Sthūlabhadra, around to 463–367 BCE, when due to a twelve year famine in North India a large group went to the South and settled at Vindhyagiri and Chandragiri in present day Sravana Belagola, but returned twelve years later, to find that, in relation to the difficult circumstances in which they had had to live the home staying group there had as a compromise taken on white cotton cloths and weakened certain of their austere habits. Then, because the Śwetambaras organized councils at which the lost ancient scriptures were rewritten without the consent of the Digambaras (and somewhat modified according to the new situation, but not appreciated by the Digambaras) and the gap between the sects grew ever wider, never to be bridged until today.