Jain 9-day Ayambil Oli begins; worship of the Navapada and Siddhachakra

Ashwina Navapada Oli is a nine-day period of austerity and worship in the Shwetambara Jain tradition, observed from Ashwin Shukla Saptami to Purnima; a second Oli is kept in Chaitra. It is dedicated to the Navapada, the nine supreme states of Jainism: the five Parameshthis — Arihant, Siddha, Acharya, Upadhyaya and Sadhu — and the four virtues of Samyak Darshan (right faith), Samyak Gyan (right knowledge), Samyak Charitra (right conduct) and Tapa (austerity). Together they are represented in the Siddhachakra yantra, which is worshipped daily. The characteristic austerity is Ayambil: a single meal each day of plain boiled grain or pulse taken without ghee, oil, milk, curd, sugar, spices, green vegetables or fruit, cultivating detachment from taste. Each day honours one pada, with its own colour and grain — white rice for the Arihant, wheat for the Siddha, chana for the Acharya, moong for the Upadhyaya, urad for the Sadhu. The observance is inspired by the story of King Shripal and Mayna Sundari, whose faithful worship of the Siddhachakra cured Shripal of leprosy; the Shripal Raso is recited in upashrayas throughout the nine days.

One meal a day, taken seated in one sitting, of plain boiled food without the six vigai. Water is boiled and taken only between sunrise and sunset.