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Past and Present of a Jaina Festivel
MS. NALINI BALBIR
In the 'Jain Digest', a Quarterly news magazine published by the Federation of Jaina Associations in North America, we read the following information : "Anandiben Gadiya, mother of Subhash Gadiyaof the Jaina Society of Houston, completed her Varsitapa Tapasyä. The Pāraņā ceremony was on May 10, 1992. Mridulaben Sutaria, a member of the Houston Jaina Center, is compleing her Varsitapa Tapasyā!". And in another issue of the same magazine?, we learn that a certain Jyotiben Shah of the Jaina Society of Greater Detroit decided to undertake Varșitapaon the occasion of Paryusana Parva in August September 1990. Varșītapa and Pāraņā are two important terms, wich refer to the area of fasting. Even if in Sanskrit, tapa and tapasya theoretically designate all manifestations of asceticism ad penance, these terms have come to almost exclusively mean fast and fasting in the Jaina tradition. As a matter of fact, the emphasis laid on fasting and dietary restrictions is a fundamental aspect of Jainism and all followers of this religion know how many varieties of fasts there are, each having a different name. The word Varșitapa is used among Hindi and Gujarati Jaina speakers to denote a fast observed during one full year (13 months and 14 days according to some), or even for two continuous years. The process is generally as follows : "the fasting is followed by the so called āyambila, that is a food without oil, ghee, suger, salt, curd, dry or green fruits. Two consecutive fasts follow if there is a tithi (sacred date) falling immediately after a fast." There may be slight variations or adjustments in the practice (about which I would be glad to learn from you), but one thing remains : the great difficulty of this penance, and the steadfastness it requires. Given this, it is easy to understand that the breaking of the fast (called pāraṇā) is an important event for all those who participated in the fast or helped the fasting person in one way or the other. This normally takes place on Vaišākha sudi.3, that
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