Paryusana or
Daslasksana Parva
This festival is celebrated by both Svetambara as wel1 as Digambara Jainas for
eight to ten days during the monsoon season. This is a festival of
self-discipline through fasting and other ascetic practices. Men, women and
children as well as monks and nuns undertake fasts with varying strictness.
While some observe fast on all the eight days, many fast on alternate days but
all fast on the last day. During Paryusana, there are regular sermons and
ceremonies in the temples. In Digambara temples, chapters from Tattvartha Sulfa,
the Bible of the Jainas, and in Svetambara temple those from Kalpasutra are read
out to the audience. On the last day, members of the community greet each other
and ask forgiveness for any pain that might have been caused knowingly or
unknowingly by any of their actions during the past year. Those members of the
community who undertake complete fast during the festival days are taken to the
temple in a procession on the last day after which they break the fast. The
Jainas are special1y zealous during Paryusana to prevent any animal life being
taken. Often jaina foundations pay money to close down slaughter houses to save
animal life during the festival days.
During the festival days, the Svetambara Jainas drink boiled water at home and
abstain from eating or drinking in a restaurant or in the houses of non-Jainas.
After a bath and change of clothes people go to the temple. Those who do not
fast come back home after worship for lunch and those who fast remain in the
temple the whole day meditating or participating in the reading of scriptures or
religious discourses. During Paryusana, the Svetambaras also take out a copy of
Kalpasutra in procession. A young girl after worship in the temple carries the
Kalpasutra in a large metal plate over her head in a procession. A man walks in
front of the girl, sprinkling water from a pot on the street, symbolically
cleaning the city. The scripture is brought to the house of a wealthy Jaina who
makes a donation to a temple. There the holy book is installed on a high
pedestal and worshipped the whole night to the accompaniment of devotional
songs. The next day it is brought backto the temple in a procession. On the
fifth day of the festival, a skylight is opened in the ceiling and silver
replicas of the dream images seen by the mother of Mahavira are lowered on a
string to the crowd gathered below. On the eighth day a copy of Barsasutra is
presented to a monk or a nun who reads it out to the people with such rapidity
that the whole text is finished in half an hour. The worshippers hold a page of
the Surra in their
ands for a few seconds and place it back, symbolizing the reading of the text
themselves.
Akshyatritiya
This festival is observed in April. On this day sugarcane juice is ritually offered to those who have
observed various types of fasts through out the year. According to jaina
literature, on this day Rsabhanatha, the first tirthankara, received in
accordance with the religious ritual in the form of sugar-cane juice for the
first time after his continuous fast of six months from the hands of the
mythical Prince Sreyamskumar. The ladies who participate in the ritual are given
garlands and are brought to the temple in a small hell procession. The relatives
of the participants go to a nearby shop of sugarcane crusher, wash the press
with boiled water and collect the juice in earthen pots. They bring the juice to
the temple and offer to the participants 108 small cups full of juice. After
observing this ritual the participants normally take a vow that for the rest of
their lives they will not drink unboiled water.
Kartik Purnima
By the full moon day of Kartik (around November), Karyik Purnima, the monks and
nuns
,tart to wander further after having stayed at one place for the rainy period.
On this day the
monks are taken out of the town in a procession and a few people even accompany
the monks to the next town or village. The community starts eating green
vegetables which is not done during the rainy season. On this day many people
start on a pilgrimage to Palitana. In many temples a stone panel or cloth
painting of Palitana is displayed and those who cannot undertake the pilgrimage
to Palitana go and worship the panel in a temple.
Diwali
Along with Hindus the Jainas also celebrate the festival of Divali. For the
Jainas, Divali is an important festival, because on this day Mahavira is
supposed to have attained nirvana. In many temples of Digambara sect sweet balls
are offered. Divali is also important for Jainas as it marks le beginning of
their new year. All business accounts of the previous year are settled and new
acount books are started. On this day businessmen go to shops and buy new
account books and worship them along with the image of Lakshmi as well as
currency notes, jewellery, etc. at a special ceremony.
Mahavira Jayanti
This festival, connected with the great auspicious event of the birth of
Lord Mahavira is celebrated with great pomp and enthusiasm by all Jainas.
Processions are taken out, meetings are held and the message of Mahavira is
explained to all.
Siddhachakra or
Navadevata Puja
Siddhacakra or Navadevata diagram (the circle of the Siddha, the omniscient one)
consists of a stylised lotus with eight petals. In the centre Id in four petals
of the lotus are depictions of the five highest Beings of the Jainas, namely
Arhat, the enlightened one, Siddha, the liberated one, Acharya, the head monk,
Upadhyaya, the teacher monk, and Sadhu, the monk. In the four petals the
Svetambaras inscribe the principles: right knowledge. right faith, right conduct
and right penance; whereas Digambaras depict dhar-
cakra, jina image, jina temple and scriptures. Apart from worshipping this
diagram in the temple or in a smaller way in the house, there is elaborate
worship of the same in which many people take part and the ritual lasts for nine
days. In this worship, the diagram is
made on the floor from grains of various colours suitable for the great Beings.
Part of the worship is a narration of the story of King Sripala who is believed
to have gained miraculous benefits due to the worship of this yantra. Generally,
the diagram is worshipped on fulfilment of a certain vow or for avoiding ill
luck and furthering prosperity. Such a puja is generally announced by the family
after the events of birth, marriage, death etc.