Festivals in Jainism

Jain festivals are, with few exceptions, occasions for fasting, scriptural study and self-examination rather than for feasting. The calendar is lunar, so every date moves against the Gregorian year.

The year turns on Paryushan Parva - eight days for Svetambara Jains ending in Samvatsari, and the parallel ten-day Das Lakshana Parva for Digambara Jains - during which the community fasts, hears scripture read in full, and ends by asking forgiveness of every living being. Mahavir Janma Kalyanak marks the birth of the twenty-fourth Tirthankara; Jain Diwali marks Mahavira's liberation, and is observed with night-long recitation rather than celebration; Gyan Panchami is given to the veneration of knowledge and the care of manuscripts.

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In-depth guides

  • Jain Festival Calendar 2026 — Every major date in the Jain year, with what each observance is for. Updated from the panchang each year.
  • Paryushan Parva — The most important festival in the Jain year: eight days of fasting, scripture and self-examination that end in asking forgiveness of every living being.
  • Samvatsari and Michhami Dukkadam — The last day of Paryushan, when Jains ask forgiveness of every living being - and what the phrase everyone sends actually means.
  • Das Lakshana Parva — Ten days, ten virtues: the Digambara observance that follows Samvatsari, taken one dharma at a time.
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