What is Daslakshan parva
Das Lakshan Parva (also called Dash Lakshan Parva) is a sacred Jain observance, mainly for Digambar Jains. It is a ten-day festival that follows the end of the monsoon season and emphasizes the ten supreme virtues of the soul. Each day is dedicated to reflecting on and practicing one virtue, with study, prayer, and often fasting or pratikramaṇa.
The ten virtues (Das Lakshan) are:
- Uttam Kshama — supreme forgiveness
- Uttam Mardav — supreme humility
- Uttam Arjava — supreme straightforwardness/honesty
- Uttam Shauch — supreme purity/contentment
- Uttam Satya — supreme truthfulness
- Uttam Sanyam — supreme self-restraint
- Uttam Tap — supreme austerity
- Uttam Tyag — supreme renunciation
- Uttam Akinchanya — supreme non-attachment
- Uttam Brahmacharya — supreme celibacy
Key points:
- It is traditionally a Digambar festival of ten days and is closely linked with Paryushan in the broader Jain calendar.
- Śvetāmbara Jains celebrate a related period (Paryushan) with their own rhythm, and the term Das Lakshan can appear in that context as part of the larger observance.
Different traditions:
- Digambar: ten-day Dash Lakshan Parva with each day devoted to one Uttam Lakshana.
- Śvetāmbara: the larger Paryushan Parva; the term Dash Lakshan may be used in reference to the same set of virtues, but the structure and timing differ.
You can read more here and here .
If you’d like, I can share the brief, traditional paraphrase of each Uttam Lakshana or provide a simple, day-by-day guide for observing it.