ava-sarpiṇī f. ‘going or gliding down gradually’, a descending period of a long duration and alternating with the ‘ascending one’ (ut-sarpiṇī, q.v.; both the ascending [ut-s°] and descending [ava-s°] cycle are divided into six stages each: good-good, good, good-bad, bad-good, bad, bad-bad), [Jain.]; [Āryabh.]