१Green vegetables (lilotari)
On the 12 parvi tithis of every month, many Jain families eat no green vegetables and no fresh fruit, ripe or unripe. Dried pulses, grains and dried foods are eaten instead.
All nine days of Ayambil Oli (Chaitra and Aso Sud 7–15) and the days of Paryushan.
Ashadh Sud 14 to Kartak Sud 14: many families avoid leafy greens (bhaji) for all four months.
To avoid harm to the life in fresh greens and the tiny beings that live on them; the texts also link it to balance in the body.
The tithi is the one at sunrise in your city, so it can differ by a day between India and abroad. Jain Today and the Jain calendar work it out for you, and the Jain calendar subscription reminds you the evening before.
२Every day
Potato, onion, garlic, carrot, radish, beetroot, fresh ginger and other roots and bulbs (anantkay).
No food (and for Chauvihar, no water) from sunset until Navkarsi next morning.
With meat and alcohol, these are the four maha-vigai.
Pulses must not be mixed with raw curd or buttermilk: heat the curd first.
Food past its time limit (kal maryada), or whose taste or smell has changed.
Used within its time limit, which depends on the season.
३Boiled water & shelf life
Boiled water stays usable for a set number of prahar (about 3 hours each), depending on the season:
Other common limits from Jain study notes (sanghs give different figures, so check yours): flour about 7 days in winter, 5 in summer, 3 in the monsoon; sweets made with water one day; sweets without water, like flour; curd within a day.
४Ayambil
One meal, eaten seated, of plain boiled food: the heart of Ayambil Oli (Chaitra and Aso Sud 7–15).
Allowed
- Boiled grains and pulses (rice, wheat, moong, chana)
- Roasted salt
- Dry ginger (sooth), black pepper, hing
- Boiled water
Not allowed
- Oil, ghee, milk, curd, sugar, jaggery
- Fried food
- Chilli, haldi, dhaniya, jeera
- Vegetables and fruit
५Pachchakkhan (vows), in one line each
Exact times for your city: Jain Today. Take the pachchakkhan from your guru, or recite it yourself with the Navkar.
६The 22 abhakshya
Foods the Jain texts list as not to be eaten. Lists differ slightly between books.
- Vad (banyan) fruit
- Pipal fruit
- Umbar (cluster fig)
- Kathumbar
- Pilkhan fruit
- Alcohol
- Meat
- Honey
- Butter
- Ice
- Poison
- Hailstones
- Raw earth / clay
- Food at night
- Bahu-bij: many-seeded fruits
- Anantkay: kandmool
- Pickles kept for days
- Gholvada: dvidal with raw curd
- Brinjal
- Unknown fruits and flowers
- Tuchh fal: fruits with little to eat
- Chalit ras: food that has spoiled
७Questions people ask
Is dry ginger or turmeric allowed? They're roots.
Dried ginger (sooth) and dried turmeric are commonly accepted, because they are no longer living. Fresh ginger and fresh turmeric are kandmool.
Are bananas or tomatoes "green" on a parvi tithi?
On parvi tithis, families who keep the rule avoid fresh fruit too, ripe or unripe. Tomato is not kandmool, so it is fine on other days.
We live abroad. What should I check on packaged food?
Look for onion or garlic powder, gelatine, animal rennet in cheese, egg, honey, and colours like E120 (carmine). "Natural flavours" can hide any of these.
Sunset is at 9:30 pm in our summer and 4 pm in winter. Which time counts?
Your own sunset. The rule follows the sun, not the clock: Jain Today shows it for your city every day.
Can children, the elderly or someone unwell relax these rules?
Health comes first. Ask your guru and your doctor; the tradition makes room for those who cannot keep a vow.
Another question? Ask Sahayak or ask on WhatsApp.
८Sources
- Parvi tithis and why greens are avoided: Scientific Secrets of Jainism (jainqq.org) ↗ · Jain vegetarianism (Wikipedia) ↗
- Boiled water and shelf life by season: ISJS Jainism Study Notes (jainqq.org) ↗ · World of Conquerors (jainqq.org) ↗
- Ayambil: Jain Treasures: Ayambil pachkhan ↗
- 22 abhakshya and dvidal: Handbook of Jainology (jainqq.org) ↗
- Pachchakkhan times: Jain Treasures: Navkarshi pachkhan ↗, calculated for your city by our calendar.
