Panch Kalyanaka ( sa, pan̄ca kalyāṇaka, "Five Auspicious Events") are the five chief auspicious events that occur in the life of

tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a ' ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the '' dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable pass ...

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle bein ...

. They are commemorated as part of many Jain rituals and festivals.

Kalyanaka

These auspicious life events are as below: # Garbh kalyāṇaka: When the ātman (soul) of a tirthankara enter's their mother's womb. # Janma kalyāṇaka: Birth of the tirthankara. Janmabhisheka is a ritual celebrating this event in which Indra does

abhisheka Abhisheka () means "bathing of the divinity to whom worship is offered." It is a religious rite or method of prayer in which a devotee pours a liquid offering on an image or murti of a God or Goddess. Abhisheka is common to Indian religions su ...

with 1008 Kalasha (holy vessels) on the tirthankara on

Mount Meru Mount Meru (Sanskrit/Pali: मेरु), also known as Sumeru, Sineru or Mahāmeru, is the sacred five-peaked mountain of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cosmology and is considered to be the centre of all the physical, metaphysical and spiritu ...

. # Dīkṣā kalyāṇaka: When a tirthankara renounce all worldly possessions and becomes an ascetic. # Kēvalajñāna kalyāṇaka: The event when a tirthankara attains kēvalajñāna (absolute knowledge). A divine

samavasarana In Jainism, Samavasarana or Samosharana ("Refuge to All") is the divine preaching hall of the Tirthankara, stated to have more than 20,000 stairs in it. The word ''samavasarana'' is derived from two words, ''sama'', meaning general and ''avasar ...

(preaching hall) appears, from where the tirthankara delivers sermons and restores the

Jain community The Jains in India are the last direct representatives of the ancient Shramana tradition. People who practice Jainism, an ancient religion of the Indian subcontinent, are collectively referred to as Jains. Sangha Jainism has a fourfold orde ...

and teachings. # Nirvāṇa kalyāṇaka: When a tirthankara leaves their mortal body, it is known as

nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

. It is followed by final liberation,

moksha ''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriologic ...

. A tirthankara is considered a

Siddha ''Siddha'' (Sanskrit: '; "perfected one") is a term that is used widely in Indian religions and culture. It means "one who is accomplished." It refers to perfected masters who have achieved a high degree of physical as well as spiritual ...

after that.

Kalyanaka Dates of 24 Tirthankara

These dates are called ''Kalyanaka Tithi''. All dates are considered according to Jain calendar known as ''Jain Panchang'' based on the

Vira Nirvana Samvat The ''Vira Nirvana Samvat'' (era) is a calendar era beginning on 7 October 527 BCE. It commemorates the Nirvana of Lord Mahaviraswami, the 24th Jain Tirthankara. This is the oldest system of chronological reckoning which is still used in India ...

, but they differ according to different sects of Jain tradition and sometimes different within the same tradition also. The following table states the ''Kalyanaka Tithis'' according to the Digambar Jain tradition from the

Calendar. Note: This list is according to Śvētāmbara tradition and months are according to the Gujarati calendar. ;Keys: * Dates are in short format. For example, ''Kartika Shukla 15'' means Fifteenth day of Bright fortnight (waxing fortnight) (Sud) of Kartika month, or the Full moon day of the Kartika month. * * *

Kalyanaka Places of 24 Tirthankara

Kalyanaka Bhumi are places where any of these Kalyanaka took place in relation to 24

Tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a ' ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the '' dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable pass ...

. They are considered places of pilgrimage by Jains. 20 out of 24

s' Nirvana kalyanaka took place at

Shikharji Shri Sammet Shikharji () is a pilgrimage site in Giridih district, Jharkhand, India. It is located on Parasnath hill, the highest mountain in the state of Jharkhand. It is the most important Jain Tirtha (pilgrimage site) by both Digambara and ...

. They are as below:

Rituals

Some Jain rituals have close relationship with these five Kalyanakas. ''Panch Kalyanaka Puja'' is a ritual solemnizes all five Kalyanaka. It was narrated by Pandit Virvijay. ''Snatra Puja'' is a ritual related to Janma Kalyanaka in which icons of

are bathed symbolising Indra doing

Abhisheka Abhisheka () means "bathing of the divinity to whom worship is offered." It is a religious rite or method of prayer in which a devotee pours a liquid offering on an image or murti of a God or Goddess. Abhisheka is common to Indian religions su ...

after birth of

. It performed before many other rituals and before starting of new enterprises, birthdays. When a new

Jain Temple A Jain temple, Derasar (Gujarati: દેરાસર) or Basadi (Kannada: ಬಸದಿ) is the place of worship for Jains, the followers of Jainism. Jain architecture is essentially restricted to temples and monasteries, and Jain buildings gen ...

is erected, these Five Auspicious Life Events are celebrated known as ''

Panch Kalyanaka Pratishtha Mahotsava ''Panch Kalyanaka Pratishtha Mahotsava'' is a traditional Jain ceremony that consecrates one or more Jain Tirthankara icons with celebration of Panch Kalyanaka (five auspicious events). The ceremony is generally held when new Jain temple is ere ...

''. It is followed by ''Anjana Shalaka'', a ceremony to install new

icon. An

Acharya In Indian religions and society, an ''acharya'' (Sanskrit: आचार्य, IAST: ; Pali: ''ācariya'') is a preceptor and expert instructor in matters such as religion, or any other subject. An acharya is a highly learned person with a ...

recite ''mantra''s related to Panch Kalyanaka followed by applying special paste to eyes of

image. After these an icons of

gets a status of real

which can be worshipped by Jains.

have to fast for three days before that.

Festivals

Many

Jain festivals Jain festivals occur on designated days of the year. Jain festivals are either related to life events of Tirthankara or they are performed with intention of purification of soul. Festivals There are many religious festivals in Jainism. Some of ...

mark Kalyanaka of

especially Janma and Nirvana Kalyanaka.

Mahavir Janma Kalyanak Mahavir Janma Kalyanak is one of the most important religious festivals in Jainism. It celebrates the birth of Mahavira, Mahavir, the twenty-fourth and last Tirthankara of present Avasarpiṇī. On the Gregorian calendar, the holiday occurs ei ...

marks Janma Kalyanak (birth) of 24th Tirthankara, Mahavira.

of icons are done on this day and procession celebrating this event takes place in the cities. It is on 13th day of bright half of Chaitra month of

Jain calendar The ''Vira Nirvana Samvat'' (era) is a calendar era beginning on 7 October 527 BCE. It commemorates the Nirvana of Lord Mahaviraswami, the 24th Jain Tirthankara. This is the oldest system of chronological reckoning which is still used in India ...

(March/April). Diwali is a day of Nirvana Kalyanaka of Mahavira. He attained

Moksha ''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriologic ...

on this day in 527 BCE. It falls on fifteenth day of dark half of Ashwin (Aaso) month (September/October) which is also a last day of a year. Pausha Dashmi is celebrated on 10th day of dark half of Pausha (Pushya) month of

Hindu calendar The Hindu calendar, Panchanga () or Panjika is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes. They adopt a ...

(December/January). It marks Janma kalyanaka (birth) of 23rd Tirthankara,

Parshvanath ''Parshvanatha'' (), also known as ''Parshva'' () and ''Parasnath'', was the 23rd of 24 ''Tirthankaras'' (supreme preacher of dharma) of Jainism. He is the only Tirthankara who gained the title of ''Kalīkālkalpataru ( Kalpavriksha in this "Ka ...

. Three days fast is observed by many Jains. Maun Agiyaras or Ekadashi marks Kalyanaka of many Tirthankaras. It is celebrated on 11th day of Magshar month of

(October/November). On this day, complete silence is observed and fasting is kept. Meditation is also performed.

References

Citations

Sources

* {{Authority control Jain festivals