Significance
Das Lakshan Parva is the Digambar tradition's principal annual period of spiritual purification. It is the Digambar counterpart of the Shwetambar Paryushan, usually beginning as Paryushan concludes, so the two great parvas of the year run consecutively.
Each of the ten days is devoted to one of the ten universal dharmas (das lakshan) taught in Jain scripture: uttam kshama (forgiveness), mardav (humility), arjav (straightforwardness), shauch (contentment or purity), satya (truth), sanyam (restraint), tap (austerity), tyag (renunciation or charity), akinchanya (non-possessiveness) and brahmacharya (celibacy).
The observance is inward rather than celebratory: the ten virtues are treated as qualities intrinsic to the soul, and the days are used to examine one's own conduct against each of them in turn.
The period is closely linked with Kshamavani, the day of universal forgiveness that follows it, on which Jains ask for and grant pardon for any harm caused.
How it is observed
- Daily temple visits with abhishek and puja, and recitation or listening to the Tattvartha Sutra, which is traditionally read during these days.
- Discourses by monks and scholars, with one of the ten dharmas expounded on each successive day.
- Varying degrees of fasting and dietary restraint according to individual capacity, ranging from a single simple meal a day to complete fasts on some days.
- Increased practice of samayik, pratikraman, meditation and scriptural study.
- Charity, donation and abstention from worldly activities and entertainment for the duration.
- Observance concludes with Kshamavani, on which forgiveness is sought from and offered to all living beings.
Fasts kept during Das Lakshan Parva
Some of these begin on the same day. They are alternatives, chosen according to what you can keep — not a list to observe all at once. Fast within your capacity, and take guidance from your guru or elders.
The dates and the number of upvas below were given by the site owner. The explanatory text is still being checked — please confirm details with your temple before undertaking a fast.
-
Bela Upvas बेला उपवास
2 upvas15–16 September 2026 Bhadrapada Shukla Panchami to Shashthi (first two days)
Two consecutive days of upvas kept at the opening of Das Lakshan. "Bela" means a fast of two days taken together, without breaking in between.
More about this vrat
Bela is the two-day form of upvas — the count is in the name, as tela is three and chola is four. It is kept from the first day of Das Lakshan by those who wish to begin the parva with a sustained fast but do not undertake the longer Panchmeru. The two days are treated as one unbroken observance rather than two separate fasts.
How it is kept. No food for the two days, water taken or not according to the vow and one's capacity. The fast is broken on the morning of the third day with parana. Temple attendance, abhishek and scriptural listening continue as on every day of the parva.
-
Panchmeru Upvas पंचमेरु उपवास
5 upvas15–19 September 2026 Bhadrapada Shukla Panchami to Navami (first five days)
Five days of upvas kept from the first day of Das Lakshan, one for each of the five Merus of Jain cosmology.
More about this vrat
Jain cosmology describes five Meru mountains across the two and a half continents of the human realm — Sudarshan Meru in Jambudvipa, Vijay and Achal in Dhatakikhanda, and Mandar and Vidyunmali in Pushkarardha. On each of them the Janma Kalyanak abhishek of a Tirthankara is performed. The five upvas of Panchmeru correspond to those five, and the vrat is often kept alongside the Panchmeru vidhan or puja.
How it is kept. Five consecutive days without food, water according to the vow. Each day is commonly associated with one Meru in the accompanying puja. Kept by those with the capacity for a long fast; parana follows on the sixth day.
-
Dhoop Dashami धूप दशमी
1 upvas20 September 2026 Bhadrapada Shukla Dashami (sixth day of Das Lakshan)
The day of offering dhoop. A single upvas is kept, and incense is offered at the temple — the day is named for the tithi, Dashami.
More about this vrat
Dhoop Dashami falls on Bhadrapada Shukla Dashami, the sixth day of Das Lakshan. Dhoop — incense — is offered before the Jina, and the offering carries a plain meaning: as the incense is consumed and leaves no residue, so the karmas are burnt away and the soul is left unclouded. In many temples the dhoop is offered into fire in a collective ceremony, and the day draws families who do not otherwise attend daily.
How it is kept. A single day of upvas. Dhoop is offered at the temple, often in the evening and often collectively. Where the fast is not kept, the offering is still made.
-
Ratnatraya Vrat रत्नत्रय व्रत
3 upvas24–26 September 2026 Begins Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturdashi — the tenth and final day of Das Lakshan — and runs three days
Three upvas for the Three Jewels: Samyak Darshan, Samyak Gyan and Samyak Charitra. It begins on the last day of Das Lakshan and continues past it.
More about this vrat
The Ratnatraya — right faith, right knowledge and right conduct — are the three together that constitute the path to liberation in Jain doctrine; no one of them suffices alone. The vrat gives one day of upvas to each. It begins on Ananta Chaturdashi, the tenth and closing day of Das Lakshan, so it runs on past the parva itself and across Kshamavani.
How it is kept. Three consecutive days of upvas, one dedicated to each jewel, with puja and scriptural study directed to that day's jewel. The vrat is kept three times a year in the Digambar tradition; this is the Bhadrapada observance, the one that closes Das Lakshan.
At a Glance
- Lunar date
- Bhadrapada Shukla Panchami to Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturdashi (ten days)
- Tradition
- Digambar tradition