Four Duties of Votary

Four Duties of Votary
There are four kinds of duty of the votaries32:

(1) Worship (2) Donation

(3) Good conduct (Ṡīla) (4) Fasting or austerity

The worship means to offer proper services to the Gods, scriptures and preceptors with eight kinds of materials. The renunciation of foods, medicine etc. for the benefit of self or others is known as ‘donation ’. The safeguarding or maintenance of the vows accepted is known as ‘good conduct’. The ‘fasting’ is defined as to renounce four kinds of food, sensual objects and passions on holy days like the eighth and fourteenth days of the fortnight etc. Intakes of only water in the holy days is termed as incomplete fasting (Anupavāsa). Having only one meal a day is called ‘Single-dieting’.