Jain temples are filled with images of the
Tirthankaras;
`Contemplating the form of the passionless
Lord in a Jaina temple, the mind becomes filled automatically with a
sentiment of renunciation... The mind is purified by the contemplation
and worship of the Tirthankaras.�
Every day devout Jains rise before dawn and,
with rosary of 108 beads in hand, invoke the Five Great Beings, bowing,
with folded hands to east, north, west and south.
As a Jain worshiper approaches the temple,
he leaves his shoes and socks outside. At the porch he puts a saffron
mark on his brow and repeats the Nissahi (which enables him to put aside
all sin and care). Inside, he comes to the shrine and bids for the right
to wash the principal Tirthankara image. Removing the jewels and old
flowers, he washes it with water, milk and five nectars. When it has
dried, he then rubs it over and marks it with liquid saffron in fourteen
places, from head to toe. Meanwhile, verses are sung in its praise,
incense and lamps waved at the threshold and an offering of rice placed on
a table before the door. Finally, the worshiper performs spiritual
worship, prostrating himself three times before the image, recalling the
virtues of the Tirthankara, singing his praises, walking backwards to the
door as he repeats the Avassahi (which allows him to engage in worldly
pursuits again), and with hands together bowing out.
