Articles & Blog
207 articles
Akshaya Tritiya and the Breaking of Varshi Tap
This auspicious spring day recalls Rishabhanatha's first alms of sugarcane juice and is when observers of the year-long Varshi Tap break the...
Varshi Tap: The Year-Long Austerity
Varshi Tap is a demanding fast maintained for more than a year in imitation of Rishabhanatha, a supreme test of devotion and self-mastery.
Navpad Oli: Nine Days of the Siddhachakra
Twice each year Jains observe nine days of Ayambil fasting in honour of the nine supreme entities represented in the Siddhachakra.
Chaturmas: The Four-Month Monastic Retreat
During the rainy season Jain monks and nuns halt their wandering and settle in one place, a period of intensified teaching and lay devotion.
Pratikraman: The Ritual of Reflection and Repentance
Pratikraman is the disciplined review of one's conduct, a turning back from wrongdoing performed daily, fortnightly and above all once a yea...
Samayika: The Practice of Equanimity
In Samayika the practitioner sits in calm equanimity for a fixed period, withdrawing from worldly activity to rest in the soul's true nature...
The Snatra Puja: Bathing the Newborn Tirthankara
The Snatra Puja re-enacts the celestial bathing of the infant Tirthankara on Mount Meru, a joyful ceremony of devotion performed in Jain tem...
Panch Kalyanaka Pratishtha Mahotsav
The grand consecration of a new temple image re-enacts the five auspicious events in a Tirthankara's life, from conception to liberation.
Mahamastakabhisheka at Shravanabelagola
Once in roughly twelve years the colossal statue of Bahubali at Shravanabelagola is anointed in a grand ceremony drawing pilgrims from acros...
Rath Yatra: The Chariot Procession of the Jinas
In the Rath Yatra an image of the Tirthankara is carried through the streets in a decorated chariot, bringing worship into the public thorou...
Kshamavani: The Digambara Day of Forgiveness
Closing the Das Lakshana festival, Kshamavani is the day on which the Digambara community seeks and grants forgiveness to all living beings.
Posadha: Living as an Ascetic for a Day
In the Posadha vow a householder withdraws from worldly life for a day and night, taking up the disciplines of a monk in temporary renunciat...