On April 4th, thousands of Jains came together in Pune to celebrate Mahavir Jayanti. The biggest celebration happened at the Shri Parshvanath Digambar Jain Temple in Camp Area, where around 3,500 people attended the morning ceremonies. This special day honors Lord Mahavira, who’s the 24th and last Tirthankara in Jainism. He’s known for teaching non-violence, truth, and being spiritually free. Mahavir Jayanti marks the birthday of Mahavira and is celebrated on the thirteenth day of the rising moon in the month of Chaitra.
The morning events started at 5:30 AM with the abhishek ceremony. During this time, 108 devotees bathed Lord Mahavira’s idol with milk, water, and other sacred items. This ceremony lasted 2.5 hours and included ancient Jain prayers that have been around for over 2,000 years. About 73% of the people who came also took part in the aarti ceremony afterward.
At 9:00 AM, there was a grand procession that went through the Camp Area for 2 kilometers. The parade had 15 beautiful floats showing important moments from Mahavira’s life. There were also 250 musicians singing traditional bhajans. Local officials said that around 12,000 people watched the parade, while 1,500 volunteers helped manage the crowd and gave prasad to everyone.
In the afternoon, there was a peace rally with 28 Jain organizations joining in. Speakers talked about non-violence and taking care of the environment. About 42% of the people at the rally were young students and professionals, showing that younger people are getting involved. Everyone agreed to try and reduce plastic use by 50% in the next year.
The evening ended with a community feast where 2,800 people enjoyed a traditional Jain meal together. Jain community leaders shared exciting plans for next year’s celebrations, including live broadcasts that could reach around 50,000 viewers in Maharashtra.
This year, the celebrations saw a 27% increase in attendance compared to last year, with participants coming from 45 different areas in Pune.
