When is the best time and day to chant Iriyavahiya Sutra: Repentance for Harm While Moving?

It is traditionally most auspicious to recite during Brahma Muhurta (4:00 AM – 6:00 AM) or Evening Dusk (Sandhya), especially on Daily or auspicious lunar days (Ekadashi, Purnima, Pradosham). Traditional offerings include Ghee lamp (Deepa), Incense (Dhoopa), Fresh flowers & Water offering.

What are the benefits of regularly chanting Iriyavahiya Sutra: Repentance for Harm While Moving?

According to sacred tradition, regular recitation brings: Peace of mind, spiritual upliftment, and harmonious energy in the home.

Sutras Mahavira

Iriyavahiya Sutra

Q: Daily Practice

This prayer is part of the *Iryavahiya* (or *Iryapath*) sutra, recited after walking, before sitting in samayika and within Pratikramana. It transforms ordinary walking into a mindful, penitent act, reinforcing the Jain ideal of constant vigilance against violence.

Repentance for Harm While Moving

A Jain prayer of repentance for harm caused to living beings while moving, seeking forgiveness for unintentional violence.

Verses

Ichha kaarein sandisah Bhagavan! Iriya vahiyam padikkamami ichchham.

O Lord! With your gracious permission, I desire to repent for the transgression of the Iriyavahiya vow.

Verse 1

Ichchhami padikkamiun iriya vahiyae virahanae gamanagmane.

I wish to confess and atone for the faults committed in my coming and going, in violation of the Iriyavahiya vow.

Verse 2

Panak kamane, biyak kamane, hariyak kamane, osa utting-panag dag matti-makkara-santana-sankamane.

For harming moving beings, seeds, green plants, dew, moss, water-bodies, spiders, and cobwebs—through the movement of my body.

Verse 3

Je me jeeva virahiya.

And for all the living beings that I have injured.

Verse 4

Egindiya, beindiya, teindiya, chauri ndiya, panchindiya. Abhihaya, vattiya, lesiya, sanghaiya, sanghattiya, pariyaviya, kilamiya, uddaviya, thanao than sankamiya jeeviyao vavaroviya tass michchhami dukkadam.

Those with one sense, two senses, three senses, four senses, or five senses—whether I have struck them, oppressed them, tormented them, crushed them, rubbed them, troubled them, afflicted them, tortured them, moved them from place to place, or deprived them of life—for all that, may my sin be forgiven.

Verse 5

Worship Guidelines & Chanting Benefits (Phalashruti)

Auspicious Day

Daily or auspicious lunar days (Ekadashi, Purnima, Pradosham)

Best Time (Muhurta)

Brahma Muhurta (4:00 AM – 6:00 AM) or Evening Dusk (Sandhya)

Sacred Offerings

Ghee lamp (Deepa), Incense (Dhoopa), Fresh flowers & Water offering

Spiritual Benefits (Phalashruti)

Peace of mind, spiritual upliftment, and harmonious energy in the home

Background

Iriyavahiya (Sanskrit Iryapathikī) is a Jain confession recited by monks, nuns and laypeople to atone for harm caused unintentionally while walking and moving about. It belongs to the Avashyaka liturgy of the Svetambara tradition: it is recited around the first essential, Samayika (essential no. 1), and within Pratikramana, essential no. 4 of the six daily Avashyakas in the Avashyaka Sutra. The text lists the beings that may have been trampled or disturbed, from one-sensed life to five-sensed creatures, and ends in the confession Micchami Dukkadam, expressing the Jain principle of non-violence (ahimsa).

Did You Know?

Purpose

This is a Jain prayer of confession and repentance for harm caused unintentionally while walking. It is recited daily by monks, nuns, and lay practitioners to acknowledge and seek forgiveness for any injury to living beings during movement.

Structure

The prayer lists specific types of harm—trampling earth, seeds, grass, dew, insects, spiders, and their webs—reflecting the Jain belief that even the smallest actions can disturb countless life forms.

Five Senses

The verse enumerates beings with one to five senses (ekendriya to panchendriya), from plants and microbes to animals and humans. This classification is central to Jain ethics, emphasizing non-violence (ahimsa) toward all life.

Repetition for Depth

The list of verbs—'struck, crushed, tormented, scattered, moved from place to place, deprived of life'—is not redundant but a thorough confession of every possible mode of harm, ensuring no action is left unacknowledged.

Daily Practice

This prayer is part of the Iryavahiya (or Iryapath) sutra, recited after walking, before sitting in samayika and within Pratikramana. It transforms ordinary walking into a mindful, penitent act, reinforcing the Jain ideal of constant vigilance against violence.

#Jainism #Pratikramana #Ahimsa #Repentance #Avashyaka #Prakrit

Complete Prayers for Mahavira