ich to strain his drinking-water to
the same end; and a broom made of cotton threads or peacock feathers
to sweep the ground before him as he walks, so that his foot may not
crush any living thing. The duty of the Yati is to read and explain
the sacred books to the Sravakas morning and evening, such functions
being known as Sandhya. His food consists of all kinds of grain,
vegetables and fruit produced above the earth; but no roots such as
yams or onions. Milk and _ghi_ are permitted, but butter and honey
are prohibited. Some strict Yatis drink no water but what has been
first boiled, lest they should inadvertently destroy any insect,
it being less criminal to boil them than to destroy them in the
drinker's stomach. A Yati having renounced the world and all civil
duties can have no family, nor does he perform any office of mourning
or rejoicing. [275] A Yati was directed to travel about begging and
preaching for eight months in the year, and during the four rainy
months to reside in some village or town and observe a fast. The
rules of conduct to be observed by him were extremely strict, as has
already been seen. Those who observed them successfully were believed
to acquire miraculous powers. He who was a Siddh or victor, and had
overcome his Karma or the sum of his human actions and affections,
could read the thoughts of others and foretell the future. He who had
attained Kewalgyan, or the state of perfect knowledge which preceded
the emancipation of the soul and its absorption into paradise, was
a god on earth, and even the gods worshipped him. Wherever he went
all plants burst into flower and brought forth fruit, whether it was
their season or not. In his presence no animal bore enmity to another
or tried to kill it, but all animals lived peaceably together. This
was the state attained to by each Tirthakar during his last sojourn
on earth. The number of Jain ascetics seems now to be less than
formerly and they are not often met with, at least in the Central
Provinces. They do not usually perform the function of temple priest.

8. Jain subcastes of Banias.

Practically all the Jains in the Central Provinces are of the Bania
caste. There is a small subcaste of Jain Kalars, but these are
said to have gone back to Hinduism. [276] Of the Bania subcastes
who are Jains the principal are the Parwar, Golapurab, Oswal and
Saitwal. Saraogi, the name for a Jain layman, and Charnagar, a
sect of Jains, are also returned as