paryushan mahaparv festival of peace soul purification shvetambara digambara jain paryushan festival
Culture Festivals Voice of Jodhpur

Paryushan Mahaparv: The Festival of Peace and Soul Purification

Paryushan Mahaparv is the eminent festival celebrated in Jainism. There are two sections in Jainism – Shvetambara and Digambara Jains. Shvetambara Jains section call this festival as Paryushan while the other section Digambara Jains call it as Das Lakshan Parv. For Shvetambara, Paryushan is celebrated in 8 days of duration while for Digambara the Das Lakshan Parv is celebrated 10 days of the festival. पर्युषण पर्व– जप, तप, साधना, आराधना, उपासना, अनुप्रेक्षा आदि अनेक प्रकार के अनुष्ठानों का अवसर है। Jains increase their level of spiritual intensity often using fasting and prayer/meditation.

The word Paryushan is derived from two Sanskrit words that are ‘pari’ means all four sides or to suppress and ‘ushan‘ means to shed all karmas or anger, ego. ‘पर्युषण’ पर्व का शाब्दिक अर्थ है- आत्मा में अवस्थित होना। पर्युषण का एक अर्थ है- कर्मों का नाश करना। कर्मरूपी शत्रुओं का नाश होगा तभी आत्मा अपने स्वरूप में अवस्थित होगी अतः यह पर्युषण पर्व आत्मा का आत्मा में निवास करने की प्रेरणा देता है।

पर्युषण महापर्व मात्र जैनों का पर्व नहीं है, यह एक सार्वभौम पर्व है। संपूर्ण संसार में यही एक ऐसा उत्सव या पर्व है जिसमें आत्मरत होकर व्यक्ति आत्मार्थी बनता है व अलौकिक, आध्यात्मिक आनंद के शिखर पर आरोहण करता हुआ मोक्षगामी होने का सद्प्रयास करता है। पूरे विश्व के लिए यह एक उत्तम और उत्कृष्ट पर्व है।

The festival Paryushan considered as a festival of soul purification and for inner peace its main purpose is to remove the disorders of the soul, for the purpose of awakening the sleeping consciousness of human beings, propagating spiritual knowledge, social goodwill and the word of all religions. पर्युषण पर्व एक ऐसा सवेरा है, जो निद्रा से उठाकर जागृत अवस्था में ले जाता है। अज्ञानरूपी अंधकार से ज्ञानरूपी प्रकाश की ओर ले जाता है।

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Also, this festival teaches that it is also mandatory to have goodwill with knowledge and devotion in the pursuit of religion, meaning, work, salvation etc. This year the Paryushan festival 2018 will be celebrated from 7th September to 14th September and Das Lakshan Parv festival will be celebrated from 14th September to 23 September.

पर्युषण पर्व को आध्यात्मिक दीवाली की भी संज्ञा दी गई है। जिस तरह दीवाली पर व्यापारी अपने संपूर्ण वर्ष का आय-व्यय का पूरा हिसाब करते हैं, गृहस्थ अपने घरों की साफ- सफाई करते हैं, ठीक उसी तरह पर्युषण पर्व के आने पर जैन धर्म को मानने वाले लोग अपने वर्ष भर के पुण्य पाप का पूरा हिसाब करते हैं। वे अपनी आत्मा पर लगे कर्म रूपी मैल की साफ-सफाई करते हैं।

As per the mythological texts, Lord Mahavira takes birth on the fifth day of Paryushan, right before his birth his mother ‘Trishala Mata‘ saw 14 courageous dreams about his son who was about to born. Lord Mahavira started Paryushan on Bhadrapada Shukhl paksha Panchami, to edify the peoples about the soul purification, inner peace to forgive others for their past sins.

The festival is celebrated to get rid of a distracted world and to make the soul pure. The celebration is done afar from history and also without any discrimination of high and low or poor and rich and old or young. The period of four months of the rainy season is also called as “Chaturmasa”. The duration of Paryushan is for eight days for Shwetambara Jains. Paryushan is a time when the laity takes on vows of study and fasting with a spiritual intensity similar to temporary monasticism. This festival teaches us to walk on the path of Mahavira, the basic principle of “अहिंसा परमोधर्म, जिओ और जीने दो” (Ahimsa Parmodharama and Live and let live), and opens the door to achieve liberation.

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The main aim of Paryushan is to attain salvation; self-purification and have an ideal soul to feel the 10 universal virtues in their daily life. This Mahaparv describes men and women who got moksha in the period of eras of Neminatha and Mahavira.

Celebration of Paryushan Mahaparv

There are 2 sections which kept fasting in their own ways:

  1. In the Digambara sect, people take food and water once in a day and continue for 10 days.
  2. In Swetambar sect, people take only boiled water only at a time of between sunset and sunrise.

Jainism abides all the rules of the Paryushan Parv in this they prefer to do meditation called “प्रतिक्रमण” (Pratikramana) and Samayika for peace in the morning at around 5:45 am for 8-10 days. Annual Pratikramana is done at the end of Paryushana. Its includes SamayikaChauvisantho (5 supremes prayers), Vandana (master’s prayer), Pratikramana (reflection),  Kayotsarga (not attachment of body) and Pratyakhyana (resolution). With this people listen to holy sermons of saints to achieve peace, happiness and wanted to adopt ‘live and let live” motto.

There is the same ritual that is followed by both the sections on the end of the festival and that is on the closing of the Paryushan festival, the ‘World Friendship Day‘ is celebrated. Digambara on the last day of Das Lakshan Parv apologizes people by saying “उत्कृष्ट क्षमा” (Excellent forgiveness), while Shvetambara apologizes to people by saying “ मिच्छामी दुक्कड़म“( Micchami Dukkadam).

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