What is a festival day (Parva - a Jain Festival) according to Jainism?
The daily worship is always fruitful and useful for the upliftment of the soul, but the day of festival or parva is a special day of worshipping, a special kind of worshipping and there is always an ancient event joined with the day. The Parva has some special kind of rites that can increase merits for future. More Penance, more worship, more religious activities are done on the day of Parva. A Soul can create or bind the 'Aayushya Karma' of the next births in future.
Every Parva is celebrated with some special rules and principles. The rites of worship and activities have some special kind of importance in Jain festivals.
This is a festival of celebrating Kalyanakas of Tirthankar Parmatmas and destroying the knowledge covering Karmas. Jain Saints have said:
'The Tirthankar's preaching is necessary to remove'
One poet has also said that-
Speech is siver but to keep silence is golden. The work done by silence is not done by speaking.
The Rituals of Maun Ekadashi
It is celebrated on the 11th day of the month of Magshar (Magshar Sud.11).
It is a very important day because 150 Kalyanakas of the Tirthankars of past, present and future have happened on this day.
In past a gentlemen named Suvrat Sheth had worshipped. On this day the following rites are done :
- A fast is observed in Paushadha with keeping silence
- Kayotsarga of 12 Logassa
- 12 Khamasanas
- 12 Swastiks and 20 Navakarvalis of the Jap Pad
'Aum Rhim Shrim Mallinath Sarvagnaya Namh'. The Birth, Diksha and Omniscience Kalyanakas of Shri Mallinath, the Diksha Kalyanaka of Shri Aranath and the Omniscience Kalyanaka of Shri Naminath had happened, So total five Kalyanakas are celebrated on this day.
According to Jainism, any person, who does all the rites shown in the Jain Philosophy, can get the ultimate happiness of Moksha as Suvrat Sheth.
