Contributed by M. Whitney Kelting
Paryuṣaṇ is the most important Śvetāmbara Jain festival. It falls in late August or early September on the cusp of the months Śrāvaṇ and Bhādarvā, and lasts eight days.
This festival begins the winding down of the year in the traditional calendar. The end of the old year and the start of the new year is celebrated at Divālī some weeks later.
Paryuṣaṇ features increased ritual observance and participation, particularly in sermons and fasting. Public recitation of the Kalpa-sūtra, fasting and restricted eating, greater focus on religious obligations, and auctions centred around religious objects or activities to raise funds are all characteristics of this festival. Communities celebrate Paryuṣaṇ in activities at both the temple and at home. It is an important public event that demonstrates active membership of both a local congregation and the wider sect of Śvetāmbara Jains.
Digambara Jains celebrate a similar festival called Daśa-lakṣaṇa-parvan, beginning the day after Paryuṣaṇ is completed.
The festival of Paryuṣaṇ – often known as Paryushan to contemporary Jains – is the main Śvetāmbara Jain festival. It falls in late August or early September on the cusp of the months Śrāvaṇ and Bhādarvā. Most Śvetāmbara groups celebrate the festival from Śrāvaṇ dark 14th through to Bhādarvā bright 5th. However, the Tapā-gaccha Jains celebrate the festival one day earlier, beginning on Śrāvaṇ dark 13 and ending on Bhādarvā bright 4.
Paryuṣaṇ lasts eight days, with certain rituals taking place at set times. The two central festival days are Mahāvīr Janam Dīvas, on the fifth day, and Saṃvatsarī, which is on the last day. These two days see celebrations involving the whole congregation.
Mahāvīr Janam Dīvas, or the celebration of the birth of Mahāvīra, centres around the public recitation of the Kalpa-sūtra text of the birth of Mahāvīra and the public veneration of objects showing significant scenes and symbols in the story. Taking part in Mahāvīr Janam Dīvas celebrations marks one's membership of a particular congregation.
On Saṃvatsarī Śvetāmbara Jains perform the annual rite of confession. It is expected that all Jains take part unless they physically cannot participate. Attending the ritual of confession indicates a lay Jain’s membership in the wider Śvetāmbara Jain community.
Paryuṣaṇ is notable for the following points:
At the centre of the annual festival of Paryuṣaṇ is the recitation of the fifth-century Kalpa-sūtra and its 17th-century commentary. This commentary is a translation into Gujarati of the Sanskrit commentary of Vinayvijay. The recitation takes five days and has three rituals or observances that are particularly significant.
The first observance takes place on the fourth day of the festival. It consists of the procession of the Kalpa-sūtra manuscript to the location where the recitations will be performed and then the opening performances.
The second ritual is in the afternoon on the fifth day of the festival. It is the recitation of the story of the conception and birth of Mahāvīra, as told in the Kalpa-sūtra. Monks may also display pictures of the story to the congregation. This day – Mahāvīr Janam Dīvas – revolves around the celebration of Mahāvīra‘s birth.
The third observance takes place in the morning of the eighth and last day of the festival. It is the auspicious unbroken recitation of the core text of the Kalpa-sūtra, the 'Barsā-sūtra' – the ‘1200 verses’.
Both lay and mendicant Jains limit the types and amounts of food they eat. A vegetarian diet is the cornerstone of Jain restrictions on food while fasting is widespread, particularly for lay women and ascetics. Restrictions on food and fasting are often the focus of vows that both lay and ascetic Jains may take.
It is particularly common for Jains to introduce extra food restrictions or to complete fasts during Paryuṣaṇ. At the least, all those who take part in the annual rite of confession are expected to fast the night before the ceremony. However, most Jains will perform some kind of food restrictions beyond this. For example, most families will give up all vegetables during the eight days of the festival, living entirely on grains, pulses and dairy products. In addition, on any given day – most commonly the first and last day of Paryuṣaṇ – many Jains will perform a full fast or a version of limited eating.
The fasts most associated with Paryuṣaṇ are the three-day fast – Aṭhṭham – and the more difficult eight-day fast – Aṭhṭhāī. During these fasts, the faster takes only water and even the times for drinking water are limited.
These fasts and other longer fasts are organised to end at the same time as the fast-breaking on the morning after Saṃvatsarī, the last day of the festival.
Paryuṣaṇ has a set of five religious obligations that is emphasised in daily sermons, especially on the first days of the festival. They are:
Most Jains try to at least partly fulfil these obligations. For example, the obligation to stop killing might be met by contributing to charitable organisations, supporting animal rights or by publishing an advertisement to encourage vegetarianism. Affection for other Jains is shown primarily through sponsoring and attending communal meals for one’s own congregation or through giving out tokens of affection and appreciation, including coins, sweets or gifts at events during the festival. Even though most Jains do not perform the three-day fast, many will undertake some kind of fasting during Paryuṣaṇ.
Throughout the festival, Śvetāmbara Jains make a special effort to uphold ritual observances. For example, many Jains make a point of worshipping daily at their temple, attending sermons by resident monks or nuns and, at the least, fasting after the confession on Saṃvatsarī. Congregations that have mendicants staying for the rainy season will hear additional sermons. Where no mendicant is in residence, congregations will often invite a mendicant to give sermons for these eight days.
One Jain practice that is especially visible at Paryuṣaṇ is the bolī or religious auction. Lay Jains bid for the privilege of performing certain rituals or of supplying the materials needed to run a temple. The public auction is a prestigious way to fulfil the Jain religious obligation to support Jain institutions. Though Jains are not required to make public donations, the public nature of the Paryuṣaṇ auctions encourages everyone to donate and helps to glorify the tradition at the same time.
The auctions allow Jain lay people to fulfil their obligation to religious institutions and promote Jain values through donation. Those who give money through the auctions gain personal merit through donation. They also create more chances for gaining merit for themselves and others by establishing and supporting the institutions which make possible the full practices of Jainism.
On a practical level, the auctions serve to supply the running budget for the temple for the year ahead. They also provide extra funds from which the congregation can draw to make charitable contributions as a group or to add to and repair the temple and its surroundings.
While auctions often take place for the rituals carried out each day during the festival, the grandest and most public auction is that performed at Mahāvīr Janam Dīvas.
Though Mahāvīra’s official date of birth is in the spring, Mahāvīr Janam Dīvas, or the celebration of the birth of Mahāvīra, is a spectacle revolving around the birth of the 24th Jina. On the fifth day of Paryuṣaṇ a prominent ascetic recites the passages of the Kalpa-sūtra that tell the story of Mahāvīra’s conception and birth to the whole local community. The lay Jains publicly venerate objects representing the conception and birth.
The most significant rituals associated with Mahāvīr Janam Dīvas are the auctions – bolīs – that are run to decide the privilege of carrying out certain ceremonies.
On Mahāvīr Janam Dīvas, the morning recitation of the Kalpa-sūtra stops just before the story of Mahāvīra’s conception and birth. The congregation then returns home and prepares for the afternoon’s celebration. Women and children dress in their finest clothing. Soon after lunch the congregation gathers in a hall for the main event. The afternoon’s recitation of the birth of Mahāvīra is embedded in a series of rituals, of which the auctions form a key part.
During her pregnancy, Mahāvīra’s mother experiences 14 dreams, which are the focus of much of the ritual activity of Mahāvīr Janam Dīvas. The dreams are:
These dreams are each pictured on 14 silver or gold plaques, which are venerated in turn.
There are bids to perform various rites associated with the 14 dreams, such as garlanding each plaque with flowers and carrying it to the display table. Leading families try to win at least one of the number of auctions that takes place at this point in the day, as a mark of their piety and prestige. The most significant and expensive auction regards the honour of being the family who takes home the image of the baby Mahāvīra for the last three days of the festival.
After the dreams have been venerated and all of the auctions completed, the Kalpa-sūtra recitation continues to the birth of Mahāvīra. At this point, men in the congregation break coconuts to mark Mahavira’s birth and feed pieces of these coconuts to each other in celebration. The congregation will also all push forward to have the chance to rock the silver image of the cradle holding the newborn Mahāvīra.
After the auctions and associated rituals, many Jains will attend the evening lamp offering in the temple. Mahāvīr Janam Dīvas and Saṃvatsarī are often the nights with the most elaborate temple decorations.
Śvetāmbara Jains focus their celebration of Mahāvīra’s birth on Mahāvīr Janam Dīvas rather than on Mahāvīr Jayanti. Taking place in the spring, this latter festival remains a minor holiday with few extra observances.
The last day of Paryuṣaṇ is called Saṃvatsarī. On this, the eighth day of the festival, Śvetāmbara Jains perform the annual rite of confession. It involves reciting the Saṃvatsarī confession, or pratikramaṇ, preferably while taking part in the gathering of local devotees. The recitation takes several hours and includes confessing and doing penance for all the possible errors one might have made during the past year.
It is expected that all Jains perform this rite unless they are physically unable to carry out the ritual.
At the start of the ritual Jains begin a total fast until the following morning. This fast, alongside the longer Paryuṣaṇ-related fasts, is broken on the morning following Saṃvatsarī. For those who have performed longer fasts, fast-breaking celebrations are organised in which family and friends of the person completing a fast ceremonially feed the faster and gain merit by doing so. In some communities, those who have finished lengthy fasts are brought on a parade around the city on the day after Saṃvatsarī.
As part of this confession ritual, Jains say the Prakrit phrase Micchāmi Dukkaḍaṃ. This means ‘May no harm come from my actions’ and fulfils the requirement of formulaic apology that is part of the duties of Paryuṣaṇ. This apology is recited to all beings and then to the whole congregation.
Following the ritual confession, Jains will usually greet each other with a related saying: Boli Cali Micchāmi Dukkaḍaṃ. This means ‘Let no harm come from anything that was said or done’. Many will try to see as many of their family members, friends and work acquaintances as possible in the next few days to repeat this greeting to them. If they cannot meet in person, Jains will usually make phone calls and send letters expressing the same sentiment.
As part of the festival of Paryuṣan, Śvetāmbara Jains celebrate the dreams of Mahāvīra’s mother, Triśalā, that foretell his greatness. Wearing crowns as part of their prominent role in the ceremony of Mahāvīr Janam Dīvas, these lay women bring small freestanding metal representations of the dreams round the congregation. The festival-goers honour the auspicious sculptures and donate money. Found on the inaphoto website, this photo was taken in London in 2005.
This YouTube slideshow of the celebrations of Paryuṣaṇ in Melbourne, Australia in 2010 illustrates some of the features of the eight-day long festival. Sculptures of the 14 auspicious dreams experienced by Mahāvīra’s mother are suspended from the ceiling on the fifth day of Paryuṣaṇ – Mahāvīr Janam Divas, which celebrates the birth of Mahāvīra, the 24th Jina. The sculptures are venerated in turn by all the festival participants, sometimes by being held to the crown of the head, seat of spirituality in Indian culture. Then auctions – bolī – are held to decide who should perform various ceremonies. The most important and expensive auction is over the right to take home the image of the infant Mahāvīra for the last three days of the festival. Everyone can rock the cradle holding the idol of the baby Jina, which takes pride of place in the display.
This community page on Facebook describes and interprets Queen Triśalā's dreams according to the Śvetāmbara sect. It also provides photographs of silver and gold sculptures of the dreams. Frequently found in temples, freestanding metal representations of the dreams are used in rituals among both Digambara and Śvetāmbara sects, such as the celebrations of Mahāvīr Jayantī. The 14 dreams of the Śvetāmbaras also play a role in their festival of Paryuṣan.
The Jain Society of Seattle offers information about Queen Triśalā, mother of Mahāvīra, the 24th Jina. Descriptions and interpretations of her auspicious dreams are provided, accompanied by photographs of silver sculptures of the dreams. Frequently found in temples, freestanding metal representations of the dreams are used in rituals among both Digambara and Śvetāmbara sects, such as the celebrations of Mahāvīr Jayantī. The 14 dreams of the Śvetāmbaras also play a role in their festival of Paryuṣan.
In 2012 the Udaipur Times reports the end of Paryuṣaṇ, the main Śvetāmbara festival. The festival closes with the day called Saṃvatsarī, on which Śvetāmbara Jains perform the annual rite of confession.
http://www.udaipurtimes.com/shwetambar-jain-community-celebrates-samvatsari/
In this piece from 2010, the Udaipur Times explains more about the Jain holy day of Saṃvatsarī, which completes the annual festival of Paryuṣaṇ, the principal Śvetāmbara festival. On this and the last day of Daśa-lakṣaṇa-parvan, the similar Digambara festival, participants say the phrase Micchāmi Dukkaḍaṃ – 'May no harm come from my actions'.
http://www.udaipurtimes.com/samvatsari-the-festival-of-forgiveness/
Recipes suitable for cooking during the Śvetāmbara festival of Paryuṣaṇ from the ramkicooks blog. During this annual festival of eight days, observant Jains tend to follow stricter than normal rules regarding food. Most families give up fresh vegetables, eating only grains, pulses and dairy produce. Taking additional vows to fast completely or partly for any given day of the festival, particularly the first and last days, is common.
This slideshow displays the re-enactment of the story of Candanabālā, who offered Mahāvīra appropriate food to break his fast. Sold into slavery, the beautiful princess has her lovely hair chopped off and is starved for three days. Even so, her first act when released is to offer alms to a passing mendicant. He is Mahāvīra, who becomes the 24th Jina, and he has been fasting for nearly six months. Candanabālā’s act of selfless charity despite her suffering causes her hair to be restored and her true identity revealed. The story of this virtuous woman – one of the soḷa satī – emphasises the importance of offering alms correctly. Acting out such stories is an important part of many Jain festivals. This re-enactment on YouTube was performed by Śvetāmbara Jains in Melbourne, Australia during the festival of Paryuṣaṇ in 2010.
The Pluralism Project at Harvard offers a short essay on the festival of Paryuṣaṇ, called 'Paryushan and the Festival of Forgiveness'. It focuses on contemporary Jainism in the United States.
http://www.pluralism.org/resources/tradition/essays/jain4.php
A svastika formed out of traditional clay lamps – dīpas in Sanskrit – is arranged on the petal-strewn floor of a temple during the festival of Paryuṣaṇ. The svastika is an ancient symbol of good luck and is frequently found in Jain temples, on religious equipment and on books, clothing and so on. The four dots among the arms of the svastika represent either the four states of existence or the parts of the fourfold community. Lasting eight days in late August or early September, Paryuṣaṇ is the most important Śvetāmbara Jain festival. This photograph on Flickr was taken in 2007.
Details of the Supreme Court of India's 2008 ruling to uphold the state government of Gujarat's ban on the operation of slaughterhouses and butchers during the Jain festival of Paryuṣaṇ. The CAclubindia.com provides this information in its Judiciary section.
IBN Live news website reports the 2008 ruling of the Supreme Court of India to uphold the decision of the state government of Gujarat to ban the operation of slaughterhouses, butchers and fisheries during the festival of Paryuṣaṇ. The 2008 article includes a video of the television news report, which features a phone interview with the legal correspondent in New Delhi. He explains the history of the legal case and possible wider applications of the ruling throughout India.
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/gujarat-meat-eaters-can-abstain-out-of-respect-sc/61275-3.html
Rite of offering lamps to the image of a Jina, usually performed to finish worship. As part of material worship, āratī is thus something that not all Jains do.
Someone who withdraws from ordinary life to meditate and practise physical hardships in order to advance spiritually. Jain ascetics or mendicants beg for food from devout lay followers and wander the land.
Also used as an adjective to describe the practice of rigorous, even extreme, physical hardships in the belief that it leads to a higher spiritual condition.
Favourable or lucky. Auspicious objects bring good fortune and may predict good events or a bright future.
An essay explaining a text. Commentaries on the scriptures are common in the Jain tradition and there are various types, including the:
Acknowledgement or declaration of the truth of a statement. In religious terms, it usually refers to admitting sin or wrongdoing to at least one other person in a ritual. It is normally a necessary step before absolution, which is formal release from guilt or consequences of wrongdoing.
A gathering of believers that has come together to perform group acts of worship.
An enthusiastic follower of a religion. Can also describe a keen enthusiast of an individual, concept or activity.
A donor gives freely. He or she may give alms to a mendicant or money to an institution. This donation may be for specific items or purposes, such as the creation of art. A donor, sponsor or patron may be named or pictured in the artwork.
Giving up or limiting food or specified foods for a period of time, usually as part of a religious practice. Fasting is a key part of Jainism, chiefly because it is believed to:
A public commemoration of a religious ritual. Often a celebration that involves holding a religious ceremony to mark an important event in a religion's history.
The language that developed in Gujarat, in western India. It is also spoken in neighbouring states. Also a term for someone or something associated with or coming from Gujarat.
An image of a deity or concept that is worshipped either as a god or as a representation of the deity.
Follower of the 24 Jinas or an adjective describing Jain teachings or practices. The term 'Jaina' is also used although 'Jain' is more common.
The Book of Ritual attributed to Bhadrabāhu. It has three sections:
A significant sacred text for Śvetāmbara Jains, the Kalpa-sūtra has a central role in the annual Paryuṣaṇ festival.
Believers in a religion who are ordinary worshippers, not clergy or members of religious orders. In Jainism, lay people are often called 'householders', indicating that they live in houses and have domestic responsibilities, unlike ascetics.
Lake Pushkar in modern-day Rajasthan is one of the five holiest pilgrimage sites for Hindus, who associate it with the Hindu trinity of Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva. The god Brahmā killed a murderous demon with his weapon, the lotus flower. Three petals fell to the earth, each creating a lake now dedicated to each of the principal gods. Devotees believe that bathing in the lakes cures many skin diseases.
The 24th Jina of the present age. His symbolic colour is yellow and his emblem the lion. Mahāvīra or 'the great hero' is his title. His birth name was Vardhamāna, meaning 'ever increasing'. His existence is historically documented but the two main sects of Digambara and Śvetāmbara Jains have slight differences in their accounts of his life.
In Hindu cosmography, the ocean of milk surrounds the continent known as Krauncha and is the fifth of the seven oceans that surround loka or inhabited space. In Hindu myth the gods and demons use the snake-king Vasuki to churn the ocean of milk for a thousand years so that the nectar of immortality and other precious objects will rise to the surface.
A voluntary action undertaken to make up for a sin or breach of a religious principle, frequently an act of self-punishment or physical hardship.
A term for any of the dead vernacular languages of ancient and medieval India. It may be contrasted with classical Sanskrit, the language used by priests and the aristocracy. The Jains used a large variety of Prakrits, with the Jain canon written chiefly in Ardhamāgadhī Prākrit.
'Introspection’ in Sanskrit. The elaborate ritual of confession and repentance that involves reciting liturgical texts and performing set gestures at dawn and dusk. It is one of an ascetic's six daily duties – āvaśyaka. For many lay people, pratikramaṇa is the essence of Jainism.
Sanskrit for a 'right or good action'. Similar to a merit in Buddhism, it helps to reduce karma.
The annual four-month rainy period in India, lasting roughly from June / July to October / November. Heavy rain, strong storms and gale-force winds are very common during this period. Mendicants cannot travel around and must stay in one place to avoid breaking their vow of non-violence and because the monsoon makes travelling on foot difficult and dangerous. It is known as cāturmāsa in Sanskrit, comāsa in Hindi and comāsu in Gujarati.
A sequence of actions that must be followed to perform a religious ceremony. The set of actions is largely symbolic, for example offering food to statues symbolises sacrificing to a deity. The ritual actions are often accompanied by set phrases.
Sanskrit term meaning 'with a home’ – that is, a ‘householder’ or lay Jain. A synonym for a lay person, emphasising that he or she is a member of a household, with responsibilities to the family, community and society that a Jain mendicant does not have.
A classical language of India, originally used by priests and nobility. Sanskrit has a rich literary and religious tradition. With only a few thousand native speakers nowadays, it is predominantly used in Hindu religious ceremonies and by scholars.
A speech on a religious topic, usually delivered by a member of the clergy. Frequently a sermon has a moral lesson or is based on a sacred text.
Hindu goddess of wealth, Śrī is the personification of spiritual energy and is closely associated with the lotus. Also a name for Lakṣmī, Hindu goddess of beauty, wisdom, fertility and wealth.
'White-clad’ in Sanskrit, the title of one of the two main divisions of Jainism, in which both male and female mendicants wear white robes. There are some differences of doctrine or belief between these two sects and to some extent their followers consider themselves as belonging to distinct branches. Divisions can be fierce in practical matters, for example, over the ownership of pilgrimage places, but all sects see themselves as Jains.
A building reserved for public worship or prayer, usually dedicated to one religion and run by members of that religion's clergy.
In line with the key principle of ahiṃsā – non-violence – Jains are traditionally vegetarian. They do not eat meat, fish, eggs or anything that contains potential life, such as onions, potatoes and aubergines. They do generally eat dairy products.
Vows are extremely important in Jain religious life. Mendicants take the compulsory Five Great Vows – mahā-vratas – as part of their initiation – dīkṣā.
Lay people can choose to take 12 vows, which are divided into:
All of these vows are lifelong and cannot be taken back. The sallekhana-vrata is a supplementary vow to fast to death, open to both ascetics and householders.
Victoria and Albert Museum. IS. 83-1963. Unknown author. 15th century
British Library. I.O. San. 3177. Unknown author. 1437
Gamma 453. Wellcome Trust Library. Unknown author. 1512
British Library. Or. 13959. Unknown author. 1639