Samvatsari 2022 Date: When Is Kshamavani or Forgiveness Day? Know Meaning of Micchami Dukkadam and Uttam Kshama and Significance of Jain Festival Falling on the Last Day of Paryushana Parva
Samvatsari or Forgiveness Day is a holy festival of the Jains that is the culminating day of the eight or ten-day celebration of Paryusana Parva as per the traditional Jain Calendar. This regional holiday is celebrated on Shukla Panchami in the month of Bhadrapada, which falls on 1 September this year.
Samvatsari is the most pious and important Jain occasion observed on the last day of the Paryushana Parva by the Shwetambar sect of Jainism. According to the Jain calendar, Samvatsari is marked annually in the month of Bhadrapada, which falls in the middle of August and September in the Gregorian Calendar. Jain community seek forgiveness for their wrongdoings and mistakes they have committed knowingly or unknowingly on the day of Samvatsari. Moreover, the practice of "samvatsari pratikramana", which is a yearly elaborate penitential retreat, is also performed on this observance. Note that Samvatsari 2022 Date is September 1, Thursday, which will be a regional holiday in some states. Let us know more about Kshamavani or Forgiveness Day and the significance of the term Micchami Dukkadam and Uttam Kshama. Know The Importance of Forgiveness Day Celebrated at End of Paryushana Parva.
Meaning of Micchami Dukkadam & Uttam Kshama
In the event of Samvatsari, Jains seek forgiveness from all the living beings for their past actions by uttering the Prakrit language phrase "Micchami Dukkadam" or its variants like "Khamau Sa", "Uttam Kshama", or "Khamat Khamna". The most widely used phrase, " Micchami Dukkadam", is found in the historic Jain texts, the same as "Mithya me duskrtam". In the literal sense, it means, "may all the evil that has been done be in vain". The quote is used widely in Jainism for the Pratikramana ritual every nine days, on Samvatsari Day in the Shwetambar tradition and Kshamavani in the Digambara tradition.
Samvatsari Rituals & Significance
In Jain traditions, folks must follow certain customs or acts on the day of Samvatsari. First, maintaining equanimity (Samayika), honouring the Tirthankaras (Chaturvimshati) and Jain sadhus and sadhvis, repenting wrong actions ( Samvatsari Pratikraman), meditating and praying (Kayotsarga) and taking vows to retain self-control, i.e. Pratyakhyana. Moreover, the main aim of the holy observance is to be apologetic to people and forgive anybody who has done evil to you. This is the reason why the event is also called Kshama Yachna Divas (apology-seeking day), Daya Divas (kindness day), and Ahimsa Divas (non-violence day).
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 29, 2022 04:28 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).