In Jainism there isn’t a single universal rule about the exact time for lunch. Practices vary by tradition and household, but here are the common understandings:

• For lay (householder) Jains: The ordinary daily pattern is to eat three meals a day—breakfast, lunch, and dinner—with lunch typically around midday. A practical guideline is to have the main meal before sunset, and many families try to finish lunch by early afternoon (roughly between 12:00 and 2:00 PM) so that there is a gap before evening activities. Some people choose to eat lighter meals in the evening or skip a meal on certain days.

• For stricter practice or during vow periods: Some observe ahar-vrata or other fasts where meals are taken very early or restricted to a shorter window, and some may skip lunch on particular days.

• Digambar and Shwetambar differences:

- Digambar followers often emphasize restraint in eating times for monks and nuns, and many lay practitioners aim to finish meals earlier in the day, with a preference to stop eating before sunset in line with general vows of non-violence and minimalism. - Shwetambar followers similarly observe meals in daylight hours, and during certain fasts or vratas, the eating window may be shortened or meals adjusted.

• For monks and nuns: They generally do not eat after noon (some traditions differ slightly) and their daily routine centers on discipline and non-violence, with meals taken within a limited window and often under supervision in monastic settings.

If you’d like, I can explain how lunch is treated in a specific Jain tradition (Digambar vs. Shwetambar) or for a particular festival or vrata.