In short
Uttam Mardava, the second virtue of Das Lakshan Parva, is supreme humility. It means overcoming maan — pride in birth, wealth, learning, beauty, power or austerity — and meeting every being as an equal soul, however different their circumstances.
- Observance
- Digambar Das Lakshan Parva
- Day
- 2 of 10
- Theme
- Uttam Mardava — Supreme Humility (उत्तम मार्दव)
- Fault it answers
- Maan — pride
- Expected date
- 16 September 2026 — confirm with your panchang
Anger is loud and quickly noticed. Pride is quiet, and often mistaken for self-respect. The second day addresses it.
The forms pride takes
Jain teaching enumerates the grounds of pride so they cannot hide: birth, family, wealth, beauty, physical strength, learning, power, and — most subtly — one's own austerity. That last is the trap of a festival like this. Fasting well and knowing that you are fasting well is not humility.
Why humility follows forgiveness
The order is not arbitrary. Pride is what makes forgiveness hard: to forgive is to stop insisting on one's own position. Having released anger yesterday, today one releases the self-importance that fed it.
Humility is accurate, not self-deprecating
Mardava does not require pretending to be less than one is. It requires seeing accurately — that ability, wealth and status are circumstances, not the soul, and that every being carries a soul of the same worth.
How to observe this day
- Do a task you consider beneath you, without mentioning it.
- Listen to someone all the way through without correcting them.
- Keep your fast or vow private.
- Notice one thing you take pride in, and hold it more lightly.
- Offer respect to elders and to ascetics in the traditional manner.
Observance and timings vary between sanghs and regions. Please confirm with your local sangh and panchang. Fasting should be undertaken within your own capacity — consult your guru or an elder, and a doctor if you have any medical condition.
Common questions
What is Uttam Mardava?
Uttam Mardava is supreme humility, the second virtue of Das Lakshan Parva. It means overcoming pride in birth, wealth, learning, beauty, power or austerity, and regarding all souls as equal.
What kinds of pride does Jainism identify?
Pride of birth, family, wealth, beauty, strength, learning, power, and pride in one's own austerity — the last being the most subtle, and the likeliest during a festival of fasting.