Chaturmas and Jain weddings: how to plan dates
Chaturmas, the four-month monsoon retreat, is one of the most important periods in the Jain year. Many Jain families avoid weddings and celebrations during these months and plan the wedding before or after. This guide explains the reasons, the planning approach and what to check with your Guruji or Panditji. It is general information, since customs differ between Digambar and Shwetambar traditions, Samaj and families.
Free Android app for Jain families, by The Jain Religion.
What is Chaturmas?
Chaturmas means the four months of the rainy season. In the Jain tradition, monks and nuns stay in one place during this period instead of travelling. The monsoon brings a large number of tiny living beings, and walking and travelling can cause harm. A fixed stay also gives the lay community time for listening to discourses, vows and fasts. The dates are set by the Jain lunar calendar, so they shift each year. Check the current year in a panchang.
Why do many families avoid weddings in Chaturmas?
- It is a time of tapasya and religious study. Many families prefer to keep the household focused on that.
- Monks and nuns are staying in the town, and the Sangh is occupied with programmes, vows and festivals.
- Paryushan and Das Lakshan fall within or near this period, and these are among the most important times of the Jain year.
- Many communities also follow the wider tradition that auspicious functions are avoided in these months.
Not every family avoids weddings in Chaturmas, and not every Samaj has the same rule. Follow your family and your Guruji.
When is the usual wedding season?
Because of this, many Jain weddings are planned after Chaturmas ends, in the winter and spring months, and again in the periods outside the monsoon. Dates for a Jain wedding are usually chosen by a Panditji from the panchang, together with the family. Months and days that families commonly avoid can include days of major fasts and some parva tithis, and each Samaj has its own list.
How do I plan the wedding date?
1. Start 6 to 9 months ahead
Venues, caterers, travel and leave from work for relatives abroad usually need the longest lead time. Chaturmas and the festival season can reduce choices.
2. List the dates that are off limits
Ask the elders which dates the family avoids, such as Chaturmas, parva tithis, the days of important fasts or the family's own occasions. Add school and exam dates, and visas if relatives are travelling.
3. Take two or three candidate dates to your Panditji
The date for the wedding, and often the engagement, is chosen from the panchang with the kundali details if the families match horoscopes. Ask for muhurat times too, not only the date.
4. Confirm with both families
Digambar and Shwetambar calendars can differ in tithi names or in the start and end of festivals. If the two families follow different traditions, agree which panchang you will use.
5. Plan the meetings around it
The first meetings, engagement and roka can be planned on shubh days too. Keep a few weeks of buffer.
How do I plan food and kitchen arrangements?
A Jain wedding is often vegetarian with Jain food: no root vegetables, and chauvihar in many families. Tell the caterer early, and ask whether Jain food is cooked in a separate area. Plan the meal so that the main events end before sunset if the family follows chauvihar.
Can I use a panchang planner to choose a date?
The Jain Matrimony app has a Digambar and Shwetambar panchang and a wedding-date planner that is aware of Chaturmas, and marks Paryushan and Das Lakshan. This is a helpful starting point for the conversation, but it is indicative only. Please confirm every date and muhurat with your Guruji or Panditji. Tithi, nakshatra, sunrise and sunset change with the city, so check the city the ceremony will be held in.
What should the family check?
- Which months does our Samaj avoid?
- Which panchang do we follow?
- Which two or three dates work for both sides?
- Have the muhurat and the kundali details been checked by our Panditji?
- Is the food plan Jain, and does it respect chauvihar?
- Are relatives from abroad able to travel on those dates?
How can the app help me plan?
Open the planner at Panchang and wedding-date planner or read Jain rishta checklist for the rest of the search.
Religious, astrological and legal points in this guide are indicative and general. Please consult your Guruji or Panditji, and a qualified adviser for legal or immigration questions.