1. When did Paryushan start?

• As a practice, Paryushan is very ancient, going back to the time of Lord Mahavira and the early Jain Sangh.
• In the Jain Āgams (especially texts like Kalpasutra and Nishith Sutra), the word for this period is “Pajjusan / Paryushana” and it is connected with:

- Chaturmās – the four rainy months when sadhus stay in one place. - Special Pratikraman, tapa (fasting), svādhyāy (scripture study) and Samvatsari (forgiveness day).

From the texts we see:

• Earlier it was basically one main day – Samvatsari (forgiveness day).
• Later Acharyas extended it:

- first to a few days of special fasting, - then to 8 days (Śvetāmbars) and 10 days (Digambars – Das Lakshan Parva).

So, there is no “modern” starting year like 1800 or 1900 etc. It is an original Jain festival from the time of Mahavira’s tradition, just gradually expanded in duration.

For simple date rules (tithi):

• Śvetāmbars:

Usually start around Shrāvan Vad 12 and end on Bhādrapad Shukla Panchami (Samvatsari).

• Digambars:

Das Lakshan Parva starts on Bhādrapad Shukla Panchami and goes for 10 days.

You can read a short explanation of the start tithi here

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1. Why does it fall at the same time as Ganesh Chaturthi?

• Paryushan is a Jain festival.
• Ganesh Chaturthi is a Hindu festival for Bhagwan Ganesh.

They look “same-time” mainly because both are fixed by the same type of Indian lunar calendar:

• Paryushan / Das Lakshan is in the period of Bhādrapad Shukla Paksha (bright half of Bhadrapad).
• Ganesh Chaturthi is on Bhādrapad Shukla Chaturthi (4th tithi of the same bright half).

So:

• Both are placed in the same month and fortnight of the lunar year.
• Therefore, some years they overlap closely or even share days, and people feel: “Paryushan and Ganesh Chaturthi come together.”
• But this is only a calendar coincidence, not because one religion copied the other or because they were designed to match.

In short:

• Paryushan: ancient Jain monsoon-period festival of tapa, pratikraman and kshamā (forgiveness), rooted in Mahavira’s time.
• Same timing as Ganesh Chaturthi: happens because both use the same lunar month (Bhādrapad) and Shukla Paksha, so their dates naturally come close, but they are independent traditions.