moon, in a house where meat is eaten, near a funeral pyre, on a battle-field, or in the twilight of the early morning or late evening. In fact on any day that a SthanakavasI Jaina feels too lazy to read the scriptures, he can find some ceremonial reason to prevent his doing so, and hence the scriptures are not in actual fact much studied by them.
Pajju-
saṇa.The ordinary routine of daily worship of course alters on the great days of Fasts or Festivals; for instance, at Pajjusaṇa, the solemn season which closes the Jaina year, many devout laymen fast for eight days or even longer and attend special services at the Apāsarā. They also take this opportunity of doing poṣadha,[2] i. e. temporarily becoming a monk. We have seen how the whole teaching of Jainism tries to lead the laity along the path of asceticism towards deliverance, and during the fast of Pajjusaṇa householders are urged to live a monk's life for at least twenty-four hours. During the twenty-four hours that he is performing poṣadha a layman never leaves the monastery, but spends his time in meditation and fasting. As a matter of fact every householder is supposed to perform poṣadha twice a month, but the generality of Jaina content themselves with doing it at the end of the year. If poṣadha be too exacting, a layman may observe the partial fast of dayā or saṁvara, when, though he sit in the monastery for some fixed period, he may take food and boiled water at will.
Saṁvat-
sarī.The closing day of the Jaina year and of Pajjusaṇa, SamvatSaṁvatsarī, is the most solemn fast of all. Every Jaina fasts throughout the day from food and water, and the Apāsarā are crowded with men and women making their confessions. No outsider can visit these gatherings without being deeply impressed with the determination of all present
