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The Jain community like other communities throughout the world celebrates many social and religious functions annually. The superb Jain festival popularly known as ‘Paryushan Parva’ organized every year in the auspicious month ‘Bhadrapad’ of the Hindu calendar extends from the fifth day to fourteenth day of the bright fortnight. Two popular titles of this festival, viz. (i) Paryushan Parva and (ii) Dash Lakshan Parva are in
vogue; but the mode of performance and aim of the festival is same. According to
Sanskrit grammar the underlying idea of the festival and its interpretation is
given below:
“Parismantadushayante dhante karmani yasimannasau
paryushnm”
i.e., The celebration through which the karmic matter attached to the soul is
totally burnt or vanquished (both internally and externally) is known Paryushan (
self- purification).
The
Paryushan is the most important festival among the Jain festivals.
Paryushan 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.
Digambars celebrate Dash-Lakshanä Parva for ten days starting on
the last day of Shvetämbar Paryushan. They celebrate ten best
characteristics of the soul: Kshamä (forgiveness), Märdav
(Humility), Ärjav (straightforwardness), Shauch (content - absence
of greed), Satya (truth), Samyam (restraint of all senses), Tapa (austerities), Tyäga (charity), Äkinchan (non-possessiveness) and
Brahmachärya (celibacy). Svetämbars celebrate eight days of
Paryushan and the last day is called Samvatsari.The original Prakrit
(ardha-magadhi) term for Paryushana is "Pajjo-savana".
During
Paryushana, there are regular sermons and ceremonies in the temples
and chapters from Tattvartha Sulfa, are read
out to the audience. On the last day, members of jain samaj
greet each other and ask forgiveness (Ksma-yachna) for any
pain that might have been caused knowingly or unknowingly by any of
their actions during the past year. Those members of the samaj
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.
Digambar
Jains celebrate Paryushan for 10 days, and call it Dash Lakshan.
During the Parva they read and discuss 10 virtues, which
are called the cardinal virtues. These cardinal virtues are the
inherent qualities of a human soul. The 10 cardinal virtues
are :
1.
FORGIVENESS (KSHAMA) - Total lack of anger.
2. HUMILITY (MARDAVA) - Lack of pride.
3. STRAIGHT FORWARDNESS (ARJAVA) - Lack of cunning.
4. CONTENTMENT (SAUCH)- Lack of greed.
5. TRUTHFULNESS (SATYA) - Lack of falsehood.
6. SELF-CONTROL (SAYAMA) - Control over physical violence.
7. AUSTERITY (TAPPA)- Austerity is repentance of one's sins.
8. RENUNCIATION (TYAGA)- Giving up possessions both internal and
external.
9. DETACHMENT (APARIGRAHA)- Lack of attachment.
10. CELIBACY (BRAHMACHARYA).
The festival ordains the Jains to observe the
above mentioned ten universal supreme virtues in daily practical life. Besides assuring a blissful
existence in this world and the other world for every living being, it aims at
the attainment of salvation - the supreme ideal for mundane soul. The
non-Jains also express high reverence for this Jain festival. All members of Jain
community- high and low, young and old, and males and females, participate with
full vigor and zeal in the various religious rituals and cultural programs. They
listen with rapt attention to the holy sermons of the saints and learned Jain
scholars arranged during the ten-day festival. In these celebrations lie dormant
the seeds of the well being, peace and happiness of the common man. On the eve
of this festival all activities, which add to social discord or bitterness are
declared taboo from the temple pulpits. These celebrations harbinger social harmony and amity and preach the lofty Jain motto
‘Live and Let live’.
Requesting Forgiveness
At the conclusion of the festival, the Sravakas request each other for
forgiveness for all offenses committed during the last year. This occurs on the
the Paryusha day for the Swetambara and on Pratipada (first) of Ashwin Krashna
for the Digambara. There are several great aphorisms (Sutras) to ask for forgiveness with the unity
of the body, speech and mind, and one of them is as follows:
Khämemi Savve Jivä, Savve Jivä Khamantu Mi
Mitti Me Savva bhuesu, Veram majjham na Kenai.
Meaning: I forgive all the living beings of the universe, and may all the
living-beings forgive me for my faults. I do not have any animosity towards
anybody, and I have friendship for all living beings.
The process of shedding our karmäs really begins by asking for forgiveness with
true feelings, and to take some vows not to repeat mistakes. The quality of the
forgiveness requires humility (vinay - absence of ego) and suppression of anger.
Therefore, the real purpose of the Paryushan is to purify our soul by staying
closer to our own soul, to look at our own faults, to ask for forgiveness for
the mistakes we have committed, and take vows to minimize our faults. We try to
forget about the needs of our body (like food) and our business so that we can
concentrate on our-self.
Paryushan Parva gives expression to the perfectly purified trait of the soul,
through which one gets rid of worldly discords and allurements and one gets
fully absorbed in the eternal truth on experiencing and realizing the true
nature of soul. In other words we can say that the natural realization of the
trio ‘the True, the Good and the Beautiful’ is fully possible only through
Paryushan. In fact the other name of the Jainism, which is universal religion,
is Paryushan. This festival puts an end to all evils in man; gives him
realization of the eternal bliss, and spiritualism becomes alive by the
celebration of this festival. To sum up, Paryushan Parva is a grand Jain festival of self-introspection, self-enlightenment and self-achievement, which ultimately leads to the one and only one final goal, i.e., liberation or salvation. |
