Kshullak Prarabghsagar in Tijara Jain temple

A kshullak (or kshullaka, lit. small or junior) is a junior Digambar Jain monk.[1] A kshullak wears two garments as opposed to a full monk who wears no clothes.[2] Specifically a Kshullaka is a Shravaka of the highest degree at 11th Pratima.

A kshullak is sometimes referred to by the earlier title Varni, even though Varni corresponds to the seventh Pratima.

Well known kshullakas include:

A Digambara Jain shravaka at the highest rank of 11th pratima is either a kshullaka or an ailaka. He is just one step below a full muni. His conduct is prescribed in Vasunandi Sravakachara and Lati Samhita.

A kshullaka wears a loin cloth (kaupina) and a white rectangular cloth as a wrap. An ailak uses only a loin cloth.

A kshullaka may live in a house or may be a wanderer. He may eat food placed in his palms, or from a container. He eats once a day. He may beg from a single house or from multiple ones.

A kshullaka may keep a yajnopavita and a shikha. In Jain tradition, Narada muni is assumed to be a Kshullak Jain monk.

Kolhapur in Maharashtra was also once known as Kshullakapur because of the presence of many Jain monks during the Shilahara rule.

Etymology

The Sanskrit term kṣullaka is a late Vedic corruption of an earlier kṣudraka and means "tiny, small, trifling".

See also

References

  1. Jain muni initiates his father into dharmic order
  2. Jinendra Varni, Jainendra Siddhanta Kosa, V.2, pages, 188-189
  • Media related to Kshullak at Wikimedia Commons
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.