________________
155 The present-day Jainas celebrate the first gift of alms to a Jaina mendicant by publicly honouring lay men and lay women, who undertake fasts similar to that of Rishabha. In almost all major centres of Jaina population several elderly Jainas of both sexes vow to fast on alternate days for periods of six months or a year. The last day of these fasts (varshi-tapa) falls on the Akshaya-tritiya, when the elders of the Jaina community, under the supervision of a monk or a nun, honour these devout Jaina lay people by feeding them spoonfuls of sugar-cane juice, thus helping them to break their fasts. This action recalls Shreyamsa's giving alms to Rishabha and emulates the examples of the first Jaina ascetic in undergoing austerities on the path of salvation.
Shruta-pancami (May/June) Shruta-pancami (Scripture-Fifth) is celebrated on the fifth day of the waxing moon of Jyeshtha. It commemorates the day on which the Jaina scriptures (shruta) were first committed to writing. At first the teachings of Mahavira were handed down orally; since they were Sacred, Jaina teachers were not willing to commit them to writing. It was, however, not easy to maintain this oral tradition, since those monks who had committed the teachings to memory gradually died off, and, because of adverse conditions few new monks were trained.
The Digambara tradition maintains that around 150 CE two Jaina monks, Bhutabali and Pushpadanta, compiled those teachings that were available and wrote them down on palm leaves. The 'Scripture-Fifth' is said to be the day on which this scripture, entitled Shatkhanda-agama (Scripture in Six Parts), was completed. The Shvetambaras, however, have a different set of scriptures called Dvadasha-anga-shruta (Scripture in Twelve Parts). These were compiled under the supervision of their pontiff (acarya) Devarddhigani Kshamashramana, c.450 CE. This event occurred at a different time of the year, and hence it is celebrated on the fifth day of the waxing moon of Karttika (October November). The actual celebrations, nevertheless, are almost identical.
On this day elaborately decorated copies of the scripture are displayed in Jaina temples, and devotees sit in front of the pedestal on which they are placed. They then sing hymns in praise of the Jinas who preached the teachings and the mendicants who faithfully preserve them. On such occasions it is customary for rich lay people to commission new, illustrated copies of certain texts, especially the biographies of the Jinas such as the Kalpasutra, and distribute them to the general public. Jaina children participate in this festival by copying the Jaina litanies and by giving gifts of paper and pens. The
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
