A History of Indian Literature v2.c20.s2.182

v2.c20.s2.182

The second Mūla-Sūtra is the Āvassaya or Āvassaga (Ṣaḍāvaśyaka-Sūtra) which has come down only in conjunction with the Nijjutti.² The Sūtra consists of six sections (Adhyāyas), which correspond to the six Āvassayas, *i.e.*, the six "essential" (āvaśyaka) daily duties of a Jaina (desisting from all evil, glorification of the Tīrthakaras, veneration of the teacher, confession, asceticism and renunciation of sensual pleasures).³ Attached to the formulas with which these duties are performed, there are stories which have come down in the old commentaries.⁴