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Eight day chovihar upvas benefits?
In Jain dharma, “Chauvihār Upvās” means: no food and no water from sunset until the next sunrise (and on an Upvās day, no food at all; usually only boiled water in permitted daytime hours). Doing this for eight days (consecutively, as your strength allows) is a form of external austerity (bāhya tapa) called anāśana in the scriptures. Its benefits are mainly spiritual.
What it gives you (according to Jain principles)
- Purification of karma: Fasting with right intention (samyak-bhāva) weakens passions (kashāya) and helps shed karmas, especially mohaniya, leading to kṣayopśama of delusion.
- Stronger self-restraint: Controls tastes, cravings, and attachment (aparigraha), strengthening saṃyama and vratas.
- Focused mind for dharma: Makes the body light and the mind steady for sāmāyik, svādhyāy, pratikraman, and dhyān.
- Punya (merit) with right conduct: Observed with ahiṃsā, humility, and forgiveness, it becomes a powerful cause of punya and inner peace.
- Habit of daylight discipline: Chauvihār cultivates the Jain ideal of taking sustenance only in the pure daylight window, avoiding night intake that risks more inadvertent hiṃsā.
Eight days: what is commonly practiced
- Many observe “Atthai” (eight-day fast). Some do nirjala (no water), others take only boiled water in permitted hours. Some may do eight consecutive Chauvihār Upvās days if a full Atthai is not possible. The spiritual thrust is the same: steady tapa with pure bhāva.
- Take proper pachchakkhān (vow) each day, keep mauna or measured speech, avoid raudra/bandha-inducing activities, do daily pratikraman, and break the fast correctly in daylight with due gratitude and vigilance.
Digambar and Śvetāmbara notes
- Both traditions honor Chauvihār and multi-day upvās as bāhya tapa.
- Śvetāmbara laity commonly take boiled water between sunrise and sunset on upvās days; Digambar practice tends to be stricter in timing and quantity. In all cases, no intake after sunset.
Important cautions
- Tapa must never harm dharma: observe within your health and capacity, with guidance from elders/Ācārya-vāṇī. The fruit depends on purity of intention more than the extremity of the fast.
- If under medical care, choose milder tapas (e.g., ēkāsana/āyambil) rather than risking injury to the body, which is a tool for sādhanā.
For concise explanations of Upvās and Chauvihār:
