History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c46.110

v3.c46.110

The Jābālopaniṣad (5)²¹⁹⁵ allows saṁnyāsa to those even who are suffering from disease and are about to die, all that is required being that they should declare in words and resolve in their mind to enter the order of saṁnyāsa. No extensive ceremonial is required. Aṅgiras and Sumantu quoted in Sm. M. (pp. 174 and 182) state 'when a man is shattered by old age or harassed by his enemies or is suffering from (an incurable) disease he may resort to saṁnyāsa by merely uttering the *praiṣa* (vide above p. 960) and no further rites would be absolutely necessary. He should recite thrice in the morning, at noon and in the evening, 'I have given up everything (or entered upon saṁnyāsa)' and further say 'I forswear whatever action I may have done through ignorance, indolence or carelessness; I shall cause no harm to creatures with my hands or feet, with my speech, body or mind; may all creatures have no fear from me.' The Dharmasindhu (III, uttarārdha) says that in this saṁnyāsa for those at the door of death the absolutely essential elements are the resolve (saṁkalpa), the uttering of the *praiṣa* and the giving of the promise of non-injury and the rest of the rites may or may not be performed according to circumstances. Even now such a saṁnyāsa (called āturasamṁnyāsa) is sometimes resorted to by religious-minded men *in extremis*, the only essentials gone through being saṁkalpa (declaration of resolve), kṣaura (tonsure of the head), sāvitrīpraveśa (described above at p. 954) and praiṣoccāra (utterance of *praiṣa*).