SAMVATSARI (INTERNATIONAL FORGIVENESS DAY)

22nd August 2025

Jain

This is the last day of the eight day festival of Paryushana, which many regard as the most important festival of Jainism. It is the holiest day of the Jain calendar and many Jains observe it as a complete fast. The entire day is spent in prayer and contemplation, and it climaxes in the evening when people ask for forgiveness from others – and from all living creatures – for any hurt they have knowingly or unknowingly caused during the previous year.

The role of a festival such as Samvatsari involving fasting, whether partial or total, along with a request for forgiveness, is a widespread feature of religious practice (cf for example Pavarana Day, Yom Kippur, Ramadan and Lent), and is a natural and universal element of annual observance in all Jain traditions.

Leviticus 16:4-34, 23:27-32.