Hyderabad: Jains celebrate Paryushan Maha Parv with fervour

Hyderabad: The king of all festivals for the Jain community Paryushan Parv was celebrated from August 24 to August 31 all around the world. After two years, the Jain community in Hyderabad celebrated the festival with great enthusiasm and spirituality. The community celebrates this festival for self-purification and spiritual development. Jains from all over the world celebrate Paryushan with a strong sense of faith and conviction. They consider it to be a highly significant festival in which they get ready for 8 or 10 days for prayer and fasting. Jains of all walks of life observe fast before or during the festival.

On this occasion, a two-km long procession was taken out, in which around 170 tapasvis' (one who fasted) for 46 days were taken on 40 chariots and around 5,000 Jains joined the procession. The entire Jain community walked for almost four-km from Ranigunj to Bantai Garden, while taking Lord Mahavir's idol on a silver chariot. The procession is being taken out every year to spread awareness on Jainism and 'Ahimsa Parmo Dharma'.

Shower of flowers was done on the chariot of Lord Mahavir and the chariots in which the Tapasvis' (ones who observed fast) were taken. Hemal Shah, a Tapasvi said, "We Jains fast before or during the festival to apologise and ask for forgiveness for any kind of sins committed. The energy which we get while we are on fast is just by our Guru and God. There are many kinds of fast that we observe like Aathai (eight days fast), Maskham (one month fast), Siddhitap (44 days fast) and other fasts which long for one year."

"Every year on the eve of Paryushan Maha Parv, a holy event is celebrated by the Jain community in August or September. During the festival, the community increase their level of spirituality by going to temples every day, by fasting, worshipping God and by listening to the religious granth recited by the Guru and acknowledge how to live life with simplicity," said a Jain community member. During the eight-days festival, the fifth-day is marked as the birth of Lord Mahavir; the eighth-day is known a 'Samvatsari' when people seek forgiveness for any sins they committed intentionally or intentionally by saying 'Micchami Dukkadam'.

Jains also donate money during the festival for Jev Daya which is used to let free of birds and animals which are caged.