Samvar na pratyakhyan

“Samvar na pratyakhyan” (Gujarati: સમ્વરનું પ્રતિખ્યાન) means taking a clear resolve (pratyakhyān) to practice samvar — the stoppage of new karmic influx — by restraining mind, speech, and body.

Essence in Jain Dharma

• Samvar: stopping new karma from entering the soul through vigilance and restraint.
• Pratyakhyan: a deliberate vow/renunciation to avoid specific causes of karma for a set limit (time, place, items, and inner attitude).

How it is done (simple, traditional way for shravaks/shravikas)

• Fix four limits:

1) Time (kāl): e.g., “from now until sunrise tomorrow” 2) Place (kṣetra): e.g., “within my home/while at work” 3) Substance/Items (dravya): e.g., “no food after sunset; no root vegetables; limit number of food items” 4) Intention/Mode (bhāva): e.g., “with care, without anger, pride, deceit, greed”

• State it clearly (in your language) with right faith:

“I take pratyakhyan to avoid [name the act/food/speech fault] within [time] and [place], maintaining carefulness and equanimity.”

• Keep mindfulness through samiti (carefulness in walking, speaking, taking food, handling things, disposing waste) and gupti (restraint of mind, speech, body).
• Review during pratikraman; if a lapse occurs, do ālochana–pratikraman and renew the pratyakhyan.

Why it matters

• Pratyakhyan directly supports samvar by closing the doors through which karma flows in. Regular, realistic resolves gradually purify conduct (charitra) and strengthen vows.

According to traditions

• Śvetāmbara and Digambara both accept samvar as a core tattva (as per Tattvārtha-sūtra) and use pratyakhyan as a practical means. Śvetāmbara liturgies place a spoken “pratyakhyan” segment inside daily/fortnightly/annual pratikraman; Digambara practice likewise includes resolve-taking within pratikraman and vrata-upodhana. The spirit and aim are the same; wording and sequence may differ slightly.

Everyday examples you can adopt

• Food: “Till sunrise tomorrow, I renounce eating after sunset and will take only boiled water.”
• Speech: “For the next 24 hours, I renounce harsh or frivolous speech; I will speak truth beneficially and briefly.”
• Movement: “Today, I will walk with care (irya samiti), avoiding harm to even small beings.”
• Possessions: “For one week, I will limit shopping and avoid unnecessary accumulation.”
• Digital restraint: “This evening, I renounce social media after 8 pm to preserve samayik-like equanimity.”

Helpful primers

• Pratikraman overview and where pratyakhyan fits:
• Steps of pratikraman including pratyakhyan (simple guide):

May your pratyakhyan become a firm support for true samvar and inner peace.