Jains in Hyd create awareness about voting during Parna Mahotsav

Hyderabad: A two-day event, Akshaya Tritiya Parna Mahotsav is being held in the city at Dadwadi Jain Temple, Karwan. Here, the Jains of Hyderabad created awareness about voting on Thursday. On Friday (today), 108 Jains from across India, who fasted alternate days for the past year will end their fasting.

The Mahotsav is being organised under the guidance of Jain Guru Dr Samkit Muni, and two others. On this day about 700 Jains from cities across India such as Nashik, Pune, Jodhpur, Karnataka, and Chennai, including 32 from Hyderabad are likely to participate in the same. Swarupchand Kothari, Gautam Chand Dank, Sajjan Gandhi, Annaraj Bafna, Vinod Kimtee, and the office bearers of the organising body informed that 108 Jains will end their year-long alternate fasting with sugar cane juice.

In an official release the organising body said that in Jainism, Akshaya Tritiya is important as it marks the first Tirthankara, Rishab dev Bhagwan, ending his one-year asceticism (severe self-discipline and avoiding all forms of indulgence) by consuming sugarcane juice poured into his cupped hands. Some Jains refer to the festival as Akshaya Tritiya Parna Mahotsav. The practices include simple living, begging, fasting and ethical practices such as humility, compassion, meditation, patience and prayer. Akshay Tritiya Parna Mahotsav brings to an end a year-long self-discipline.

Before breaking the fast, a km-long procession with participation of 20 chariots will take place. The two-day event, which ends on May 10, is likely to witness a footfall of about 4,000.