The Festival of
Self-Uplift by the Holy Observation of Ten Universal Virtues
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. The festival ordains the Jains to observe the 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’.
The ‘Paryushan
Parva’ celebrated annually for self-purification and uplift is meant
to adhere to the ten universal virtues in practical life; and leads us on
the right path, far from the mad strife for material prosperity, which
ultimately leads us to our true destination i.e., salvation. 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 i.e., self-purification.
Various meaningful and sublime
titles have been assigned to this festival in different Jain scripture;
e.g.,
Parva Raj - The festival
which carries a special and greater significance; its celebrations spread
over a longer duration and it is more soul-stirring than any other Jain
festival.
Maha
Parva - It is an ancient and chief of all Jain festival.
Dash Lakshan Parva - The
festival for the observance of ten universal virtues; viz., forgiveness,
contentment, and celibacy, which aim at the uplift of the soul and are
vividly preached and practiced during the festival.
Paryushan Parva - The
festival through which an attempt is made to put an end to all vices,
passions and lustful desires in thought, speech and deeds.
Paryu-Prasa - The
festival in which one meditates upon the inherent virtues of the soul in
thought, speech and action; or one attains peace of soul i.e., celestial
peace.
Paryupshamn or Pajjusvana
- The festival in which an attempt is made to obtain peace discarding all
passions and lustful desires through various means; and observe harmony in
the soul through the study of scriptures.
Pajjushana - This word
of Prakrit language carries the same meaning as explained in
Paryushan Parva.
Samvatsari Parva - The
festival which is celebrated annually to subdue all passions and lustful
desires. This title is popular to the Swaitamber sect of Jainism.
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.
Since times
immemorial the living beings have fallen prey to the bewitching worldly
allurements. They are involved day and night in such a poisonous
environment of lustful desires and sensuous pleasures that despite being
cautioned time and again, they fail to rid themselves from the bondage of
the net work of worldly illusions. Jain Acaryas have, through their
sermons and ideal moral code of conduct, inspired the mundane souls to
keep aloof from the blemishes of the world, which breed nothing but sorrow
and misery for the mankind. But the insatiable ambition of man for
sensuous pleasures, material comforts and luxurious life has always
allured him since antiquity. Consequently man has bitterly failed to make
distinction between self and non-self, and to understand the real nature
of soul.
This
festival has its own age-old history, but nothing definite can be said
about its origin and since when it is being celebrated. In fact, the
celebration of this festival is beyond the scope of known history. The
truth is that spiritual matters like self-purification and renunciation
cannot be measured by Time scale. When the auspicious month of Bhadrapad
comes every year, the whole Jain community celebrates this festival
unitedly without any difference of high and low, rich and poor. The
Digambaras and the Swaitamberas, both sects of Jain community
celebrate the self-uplifting festival with great enthusiasm. The fifth day
of the bright fortnight of the holy month of ‘Bhadrapad’ is
auspicious for both. The Digambaras celebrate this festival
annually for ten days, from the fifth day to the fourteenth day of the
bright half of the month. Whereas the Swaitamberas celebrate it only for
eight days, and the fifth day is the main day of their celebrations held
under the title ‘Samvatsari Parva’.
References
about the celebrations of ‘Paryushan Parva’ or Dash Lakhan Parva
are available here and there in ancient literary books as well; which show
that it has been a popular festival since ages. The householders celebrate
it jointly suspending all their business, agricultural and commercial
activities for the time being. A fine description of the closing ceremony
of this festival is available in the ‘Bhattarak’ era extending from
1350 AD to 1450 AD. In that age the house-holders got manuscript copies of
the prominent holy books prepared by the scholars, and offered these to
the ‘Bhattaraks’ and their disciples with due devotion at the end
of ceremonies. Even today ‘Dash Lakshan Parva’ is the most suitable
occasion for giving donations and charities; and on the last day of the
festival the house-holders observe full day fast and make every attempt to
donate to religious and social institutions in cash or kind some thing
within their capacity. Very often the Jain scholars viz. poets and writers
get their literary works initiated during the festival days and thus pay
their homage to this grand festival.
‘Jin
Datt Charit’ is an epic poem of Hindi language. The author of this
literary work, the great poet Raj Singh finished this book on the holy day
of 5th day, of the bright moon of ‘Bhadrapad’ in
Samvat 1354. The learned poet Raj Singh chose this day for the
initiation ceremony of his great book simply to immortalize the glory and
significance of this day. The following verse of the poem throws ample
light on the special significance of ‘Dash Lakshan Parva’ in the 14th
century.
‘Samvat terven chauvane bhadav shudi panchami guru dine’
· Jin
Datt Charit
Similar to the modern age, the
Dash Lakshan Parva was celebrated with great zeal and joy thousands of
years ago as well; austerities viz. self-meditation, doing penance,
fasting and study of holy scriptures were performed during that period.
The householders purged their soul by keeping fast on the last day of the
ceremonies and celebrated the closing ceremony with great pomp and show.
When the ten day celebration are over, this festival leaves behind deep
impress on the mind and heart of every Jain - young and old.
All Jains -
Digambers and Swaitambers, will celebrate this sacred
festival forever throughout India and abroad. The former appear to have
the best pretensions to antiquity and cultural heritage and to have been
most widely diffused; the later have only as yet been traced as far back
as 5th century AD. The former are almost certainly the same as
Nirgrantha, who are referred to in numerous passages of Buddhist
Pal Pitakas and must therefore be as old as 6th century
B.C. rather earlier. The Swaitamberas’ idea of exclusiveness
appears to be one of recent growth. In fact, Jainism is a prehistoric
religion propounded by the first Tirthankara Lord Aadi Nath. Upon
all these grounds we think that the celebration of Paryushan Parva
is a holy tradition coming down from the ancient past to the present
times.
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.
Do not minimize the value of
ideals. They appeal to the imagination, stir the heart, stimulate the
noblest springs of action, but ideal and practical must be blended into
one harmonious whole. There must be no divorce between the real and ideal.
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