Kshamavani: The Digambara Day of Forgiveness

Kshamavani, the day of universal forgiveness, is the solemn observance that closes the ten-day Das Lakshana Parva of the Digambara Jain community. Its name joins the word for forgiveness with the word for the granting or proclamation of it, and the day is devoted wholly to the seeking and giving of pardon for all wrongs committed, knowingly or unknowingly, against any living being. It falls on the day following the conclusion of Das Lakshana, in the bright fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada, and it corresponds in spirit to the Samvatsari observed by the Svetambara community at the close of Paryushana.

The observance flows naturally from the festival that precedes it. The first and foremost of the ten virtues contemplated during Das Lakshana is supreme forgiveness, uttama kshama, and the ten days of reflection on the qualities of the soul culminate in the practical enactment of that first virtue. Having spent the festival meditating on forbearance, humility and the release of the passions, the community brings its reflection to fruition by actually laying down its grievances and asking pardon of one another.

On Kshamavani, members of the community approach family, friends, acquaintances and even those with whom they have quarrelled, and ask forgiveness for any harm they may have caused. The Prakrit and Hindi expressions of forgiveness are exchanged freely, and the request is understood to extend beyond the human circle to embrace all living beings, from the largest creatures to the smallest forms of life that Jain teaching holds to possess souls. To ask forgiveness is treated as an act of humility that dissolves pride, and to grant it as an act of magnanimity that releases resentment; the two together restore harmony and lighten the soul.

The day is passed in worship, reflection and the reading of scripture, and many observe it with fasting and restraint. Letters and messages seeking forgiveness are sent to those who are distant, so that the reconciliation reaches even beyond the immediate community. Gatherings are held at which members formally ask and grant pardon, and old disputes are set aside in a shared commitment to begin anew. The atmosphere is one of humility and reconciliation rather than celebration.

The deeper foundation of the observance lies in the Jain understanding of karma and the passions. Anger and resentment are counted among the passions that bind karma to the soul and obstruct its progress toward liberation, and forgiveness is the direct means of dissolving them. By fixing a day on which grievances are deliberately released, the tradition prevents hostility from hardening into permanent enmity and keeps the ideal of non-violence alive not only in outward action but in the inward disposition of the heart. Forgiveness, in this understanding, is an aspect of ahimsa, for to harbour ill will is itself a form of harm.

Kshamavani thus gives the Das Lakshana festival its fitting conclusion, translating ten days of contemplation into an act of reconciliation that renews the bonds of the community. Its recurring return each year offers a fixed occasion on which no wrong need be carried indefinitely and every relationship may be restored. In the practice of universal forgiveness the Digambara community affirms, in the most intimate terms, the compassion and humility that stand at the centre of the Jain path.