Like many observing the Jain faith in Tiruchi, Rakhee Matalia has ended a significant rite this weekend: she has fasted for 31 days, subsisting on just boiled water.
Fasting is undertaken by the Jains throughout the year, but is more common during the festive period in the auspicious Bhadrapad month of the Hindu calendar. The two dominant sects of Jainism — Shwetambar and Digambar — both celebrate this festival.
The Shwetambars refer to it as Paryushana Parva (which lasts 8 or 10 days and was celebrated in end August this year), while the Digambars call it Das-Lakshana Parva, and their 10-day celebration starts on the last day of the former’s festival. Ms. Rakhee says she was inspired to take up Jain fasting even though she is a Sindhi by birth.
“Ours was a love-cum-arranged marriage, and I have always seen my husband Jiten and his elder brother fasting regularly. I have fasted for up to 16 days earlier but this is the first time that I have fasted for so long.” Fasting in the Jain tradition starts from the sunset of the previous day and goes on up to 48 minutes after the following day’s sunrise — a duration of roughly 36 hours.
The consumption of boiled water is allowed from around 9 a.m. until 6 p.m., after which even this is prohibited.
“We don’t get mouth ulcers, but there is a problem with acidity while fasting,” says Jiten Matalia, Rakhee’s husband, a dealer in precious and synthetic gemstones.
Having made Tiruchi their home since 1995, the Matalias are originally from Rajkot in Rajasthan and observing the fast is one of the ways they express their religious identity.
“This is a way to tame the taste buds, and purify the soul,” says Ranjanbai Matalia, Ms. Rakhee’s mother-in-law. “You learn how to discipline yourself through fasting.”
Unable to fast herself due to health constraints, she has instead chosen to eat just one meal a day during the auspicious season this year.
The Matalias follow the “Sthanak” tradition of Shwetambar Jainism (idol worship is not practised in this stream).
The fast is accompanied by designated periods of meditation and prayers.
The closure of the fast is usually celebrated with a ceremony among family and friends.
Food items given to end the fast vary according to its duration, from boiled moong dal water to tonics made of jaggery water or crystal sugar and herbs.
In Ms. Rakhee’s case, she was first fed a warm herbal drink to aid digestion. “I was covered with a sheet to sweat out all the impurities,” she says.
