Navkarsi and Porsi are names of fixed food‑times followed in Jain tradition, mainly by householders (shravaks / shravikas).

1. Navkarsi (नवकारसी / नवकारसी)

• What it is:

The first food or drink taken in the morning, only after a certain time has passed after sunrise, and nothing is taken before that.

• Usual understanding in Jain practice:

- One does not eat or drink anything from night till after sunrise. - After about 48 minutes (1 ghaḍī) from sunrise, one may take the first food/drink – this is called Navkarsi. - It is named in relation to Navkār Mantra / 9 tattvas and to remind us that: - We start the day with restraint. - We avoid eating in darkness or in the very early movement of countless tiny living beings. - We connect our first food with spiritual remembrance and ahimsa (non‑violence).

In simple words: Navkarsi = first meal of the day, taken only after some time has passed from sunrise, with full awareness and restraint.

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2. Porsi (पोरसी / पोर्सी)

• What it is:

The next standard eating time after Navkarsi.

• Usual understanding in Jain practice:

- Porsi is roughly around 3 hours after sunrise (about 1½ muhurt). - Many families use this word just to mean: “We will eat around that mid‑morning time (a bit later than Navkarsi).” - It is again a fixed, disciplined time – not eating any time randomly, but in certain time‑blocks of the day.

In simple words: Porsi = a later morning meal time, about 3 hours after sunrise, observed with discipline.

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Spiritual point behind both

• To avoid unnecessary himsa by:

- Not eating in darkness. - Limiting eating to few fixed times.

• To build self‑control over taste and tongue.
• To remember that even eating is to be done with dharma‑bhāva (spiritual attitude), not just for enjoyment.

Both Digambar and Shvetambar traditions accept these as disciplined food‑times; detailed rules may vary by sect, guru, or local tradition, but the basic meaning is the same: regulated, daylight, ahimsa‑based eating.