Pratima (Jainism)

Pratima is a step marking the spiritual rise of a lay person in Jainism.

In Jainism, the spiritual rise of a lay householder (sravaka) is marked by eleven steps termed pratima. They are described in several codes of conduct (sravakacharas). After having passed the eleven steps, one is no longer a sravaka, but a monk (muni).

The pratimas are mentioned in several ancient texts like Ratnakaranda Shravakachara (2nd century A.D.).

Rules prescribed for laymen are divided into twelve vrata (vows) and eleven pratimas.

The twelve vows are:

The eleven stages (pratima) are:

Ashadhara in his Sagara-Dharmammrata (13th century) has groups the 11 steps into three ranks.

Those who have ascended to the eleventh pratima are termed Kshullaka (with two articles of clothing) and Ailaka (with only one piece of cloth) in the Digambara tradition. The eleventh pratima is termed Shramanabhuta Pratima (being almost like a Shramana) in the Svetambara tradition. The next step is that of a full Jain Muni.

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