Close of the Jain Kartika Ashtahnika on Purnima with Nandishwar puja and rath yatras

Kartika Ashtahnika ends on Kartika Purnima, completing the eight days of devotion during which, according to Jain belief, the devas worship the 52 eternal Jinalayas of Nandishwar Dweep. On the final day, Jains complete the Siddhachakra Mandal Vidhan or Nandishwar puja that was performed through the festival, perform abhishek and the ashtaprakari puja, and break their eight-day fasts (parana) with humility and gratitude. Many communities, especially Digambar Jains, take out a rath yatra in which the image of a Tirthankara is carried through the town on a decorated chariot, with music, dancing and the chanting of the Navkar Mantra. The day also coincides with the end of Chaturmas, when monks and nuns resume their travels, and with the reopening of the holy Shatrunjaya hill at Palitana, where lakhs of pilgrims climb to the temples of Lord Rishabhdev (Adinath). For Jains Kartika Purnima is doubly sacred: it is also the birth anniversary of the great Acharya Hemachandra (1089 CE), the scholar-monk of Gujarat who guided King Kumarapala towards non-violence.

The eight-day fast is completed; parana after puja.