प्रतिष्ठासारोद्धार : एक सामान्य परिचय

Summary

This document provides a general introduction to the text *Pratishthasaroddhara*, a work concerning the installation of Jain idols. The author is the renowned scholar Shri Ashadharaji, a householder-acharya. The text was first published in Vikram Samvat 1974 with a concise Hindi commentary by Pandit Manoharlal Shastri. Ashadharaji composed this work to elaborate upon the subject matter of Acharya Vasunandi's *Pratishthasara Sangraha*, giving it the meaningful title *Pratishthasaroddhara*. The text is also known by the alternative name *Jinayajnakalpa*, a term the author himself uses in the benedictory verse, explaining that "Jina" refers to those who have conquered karmic enemies, and their worship constitutes the "Jinayajna," with "Kalpa" denoting the sequence of rituals. The work is divided into six chapters. The first chapter, spanning twenty-one pages, begins by encouraging pious individuals to build new Jain temples and, especially, to renovate old, dilapidated ones. It advises that when renovating a temple or installing a new idol, a peace ceremony should be performed. The text lists auspicious signs for such an endeavor, including seeing a Digambara monk, a cow with a calf, or a chaste woman, and hearing sounds like a veena or the recitation of Jain scriptures. The author emphasizes that one should not violate the principles of Vastu Shastra when constructing a temple or idol. Regarding the size of idols for home worship, the text advises that a householder should not install an idol larger than one *vitasti* (span) in their home; such an idol is meant for a temple. It provides a detailed list of the effects of different idol sizes, measured in *angulas* (finger-widths), ranging from one to eleven *angulas*, with eleven being the most beneficial. An idol that is already installed, has a non-Jain form