First, deep vinay and sympathy for what your family and this atma have gone through. Such a long illness, watching someone suffer, and then a very unusual passing – it naturally creates many questions in the mind.

I’ll keep the answer simple, but based fully on Jain siddhant.

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1. What is Santhara / Sallekhana in this case?

From what you have written:

• She had long‑term, severe disease (many years).
• Doctors clearly said: “Only about 1 hour left.”
• She was brought home, pachchhakhān (vow) of santhara was given by a muni.
• Even in semi‑conscious state she nodded yes to accept the vow.
• After that, you all did Navkar japa, pratikraman, prarthna around her.
• She lived for about 6 days after taking santhara, mostly detached from food etc.

From Jain drishti, this is a valid and very punya‑karma bhav:

• Terminal stage
• Guru present
• Clear acceptance (her nod was her icchā)
• Family supporting with dharm‑bhav, not with attachment and crying

Such santhara is considered samādhi maraṇ (death with as much equanimity as possible for that soul), which is very shubh.

You can read more here

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2. Why did she suddenly regain consciousness and talk normally?

From Jain karma theory:

• At the end of life, uday (rising) and kshay (destruction) of karmas can happen in waves.
• Especially mohaniya, vedaniya (pain‑giving) and darshan‑avarniya (obscuring right perception) karmas can fluctuate.

Often described patterns:

1. Very painful / confused phase – strong vedaniya + mohaniya uday.
2. Then, sudden clarity or lightness – some karmas get exhausted; a bit of shanti arises.
3. Then final weakness and leaving the body.

So:

• Her 3 days of clear talking, normal responses can be understood as:

- Some heavy ghāti karmas got burned up. - She got a chance for more awareness, more pratikraman, more forgiveness, even if only mentally.

• Spiritually this is a very good sign: the soul got an opportunity to leave with more jagruti (awareness) than before.

We should not over‑interpret every detail, but it is definitely shubh that:

• She could respond,
• She was in a dharmic environment,
• Navkar, pratikraman, forgiveness etc. were going on.

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3. Changes in breath, face turning black, then swelling and shining – what does it mean?

Here we must be very clear about Jain siddhant:

a) Physical changes at death

• Heavy mouth‑breathing, nose turning, body shrinking, skin becoming dark/blackish –

these are mainly physical results of: - long disease, - medicines, - low oxygen, - blood circulation stopping, - dehydration, etc.

• After actual death:

- Muscles relax → mouth can remain open. - Blood settles → skin color and swelling can change. - Sometimes the face suddenly looks peaceful or “bright” compared to the suffering stage.

Jain texts do not say: > “Black face = bad gati; fair/bright face = dev gati.”

These are not scriptural rules. They are just traditional guesses people make from emotion.

b) Can face “shining” mean something spiritual?

What we can carefully say:

• When a person dies in relatively peaceful bhav,

the expression on the face often looks calmer than during pain.

• For devotees around, that calmness looks like “tej”, “prakash”, “ujvalo che”.

It may indicate:

• The last antim bhav was less full of fear/anger and a little more saumya (soft, peaceful).
• Combined with santhara, navkar, pratikraman – this is spiritually very good.

But remember: Jain scriptures do not give a fixed rule like: > “If face shines after death, gati = devlok.”

So we must avoid over‑confidence.

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4. “What karma‑uday made her suffer so much?”

Only Kevali Bhagwan can know exact past karmas of any jiva.

What we can say in principle:

• Long disease, repeated pain, bed‑ridden, spread to many organs –

is typically the uday of strong: - Asata‑vedaniya karma (pain‑giving), - Along with some ayushya karma (fixed life‑span) that had to be lived out, - Possibly some anantānubandhi krodh, mān, māyā, lobh karmas from past, now burning.

From Jain view, such suffering:

• Destroys a lot of past karma if borne with patience and less raag‑dvesh.
• If she, especially near the end, accepted santhara, forgave others, and tried to remain calm:

- A very large stock of old karmas may have been burnt.

So, even though the scene is painful for us, spiritually this type of end can be a big spiritual progress for that soul.

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5. Did she go to devlok?

Honest Jain answer:

• No one except Kevali Bhagwan can say with certainty where any particular soul has gone.
• Jain shastras are very clear:

- Gati (next birth) depends on the last powerful bhav + overall karmic state at that moment. - Not on family opinion, not on external signs seen by us.

However, we can see strong shubh indications:

1. Santhara with muni’s guidance

– this is a very high punya and dharmic ending for a household jiva.

1. Navkar japa, pratikraman, kshamapanā around her

– creates a pure environment and supports shubha bhav in her.

1. Her own nod and acceptance of santhara

– shows willingness for tyag and samyam in the final days.

1. A period of regained consciousness

– gives her a chance to: - mentally do more pratikraman and forgiveness, - internally accept detachment from body.

These are all signs of spiritual uplift, but not a guarantee or proof of devlok.

Realistic, dharmic way to think:

• She very likely improved her next birth (gati and bhav)

compared to what it would have been without santhara and dharm‑bhav.

• Whether it is deva gati, better human birth, or some other shubh gati,

we leave to the law of karma and Bhagwan’s siddhant, not to guesses.

You can read a simple explanation on signs of liberation and why we cannot see exact gati here

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6. What can the family do now?

According to Jain dharma, the best help to the departed soul is:

1. Stop blaming or over‑imagining the past.

Accept: whatever karma she had, she bore it bravely with santhara.

1. Do your own pratikraman and kshamā:

- “If we ever hurt her by mind, speech or body – Micchāmi Dukkaḍaṃ.” - And genuinely forgive her also from your heart.

1. Navkar jaap, samayik, svadhyaya in her memory:

- Not to “push” her to devlok, - But to purify your own bhav and create shubh leshyā around her memory.

1. Dāna and jiv‑dayā in her name:

- Help poor, support animal care, donate to dharmic causes, - With clear bhav: “May this be a support for all souls, including hers.”

You can read more on what to do after someone passes away here and here

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7. How to see her journey with shraddhā

Putting it very simply:

• She suffered a lot – this was heavy karma uday.
• She accepted santhara under muni’s guidance – this is a very strong dharmic act.
• She got some clear days before death – chance for better final bhav.
• She died in a home filled with Navkar, pratikraman, prarthna –

not everyone gets this punya.

So, instead of being disturbed by the physical signs (blackness, swelling, open mouth):

• Remember her antim shraddhā,
• Her santhara,
• And keep deep, quiet trust in Tirthankars’ law of karma.

From Jain drishti, you can peacefully hold this bhav:

> “She has completed the karma of that body with santhara and dharm‑bhav. > May her soul move towards higher gati and ultimately towards moksha. > Khāmemi savva jīvā, savve jīvā khamantu me.”

Micchāmi Dukkaḍaṃ to you and to that atma if any wrong words are spoken here.