BOMBAY had never seen anything like it! A three-day Dharma Mahotsav by 3,100 devotees of Jainism who were on a 13-month-long, alternate-day fast (Varshitap) that ended with all of them breaking the fast over a glass of sugarcane juice.

The three-day Mahotsav, held under the auspices of the Limbdi Ajaramar Sangh, saw two lakh Jains congregate at the Wadia School grounds in Andheri, Bombay. The Varshitap was broken in their presence and the devotees who had kept the fast were blessed by Acharya Narsinh Muni Swami, Bhanchandraji Swami and Bhaskar Swami, all revered Jain saints. There were, in addition, 250 other saints.

The Varshitap was done to observe and celebrate the 250th birth anniversary of the Jain community�s Acharya Ajaramar Swami, who belonged to Limbdi city in Saurashtra. It was the third day of the Dharma Mahotsav and concluded with what is known as a Parana ceremony: the breaking of the fast, or penance of 400 days, which the 3,100 Jain devotees had undertaken on every alternate day.

Jains who had kept the fast in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and other states, came down for the Dharma Mahotsav. Those doing the Varshitap had to fast on alternate days of the year. They were allowed to have only boiled water on these days. And they broke their fast by sipping sugarcane juice which was offered to them by one of the 250 Jain saints who had presided over the Dharma Mahotsav.

Jains in Bombay said that this was for the first time in the history of Jainism that so many devotees had undertaken the Varshitap together and ended it in what was such a huge an successful community ceremony. And, along with the observation of the fast, the devotees had to perform a lot of kriya which included the recitation of shlokas, religious readings, visiting munis, etc. Even on the days that the fast was not observed, there were strict restrictions regarding the type of food they could consume and certain timings had also to be maintained during which they had their meals. Apparently, a lot of planning went into the organisation of the entire Dharma Mahotsav. And the planning went back to the stage 13 months ago when the devotees volunteering to undertake the Varshitap had to assemble together and take an oath (a pachkan) to observe the fast.

The more confident Jains from among thousands of devotees took the pachkan and pledged to undertake the 13-month fast at one go. Whereas others kept the fast in parts. The pachkan ceremony was held at three different venues in Bombay and at different times. And throughout the 400 days of the Varshitap, contact was maintained by the Dharma Mahotsav organisers, the Limbdi Ajaramar Sangh, with all the devotees and they were frequently called over for various functions held over the year.

Close to the end of the 13-month period, preparations began for the Parana ceremony when the 3,100 devotees would break their fast together. Every year, the Varshitap ends on the third day of the Hindu month Vaishakh. The day called Akha Trij. This year, it fell on May 4. From the organisers� point of view, the most important task was to carry out the ceremony systematically, as managing such a large number of people would be difficult.

The devotees who had undertaken the Varshitap and who were participating in the Parana, were given instructions regarding spaces allotted for them to break their fast in the Wadia School grounds and they were also informed about the entire programme for the Dharma Mahotsav well in advance. On the opening day of the event, a huge and colourful shamiana covering the grounds greeted the Jain devotees who had come from far and wide. They was seating and resting places, eating areas, washrooms and toilets, information centres, and hundreds of volunteers to help the devotees find their allotted spots. Truly, this was an important and landmark event for the Jain community.

Jains from all over India attended the three-day Dharma Mahotsav. Devotees were asked to participate in a blood donation camp which was later held on June 1. It was, again, the largest blood donation camp held in the world with 11,451 Jains donating blood simultaneously. The world record for such an event is 8,008 donors.

The blood donation drive, organised by the Shree Limbdi Ajaramar Sampraday, brought together 60 blood banks and 350 doctors from Maharashtra and Gujarat. Ajaramar Virasat, a memorial book published on this occasion, was released, and later that day a musical programme was arranged with devotees singing religious songs or stavans.