PIB Snippets 2 Topics UPSC Prelims & Mains

PIB Snippets — October 5, 2026

Today’s official releases — Kshamapana Mahaparva and Jain teachings, and Shyamji Krishna Varma, founder of India House in London

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Kshamapana Mahaparva: Jainism’s Message of Forgiveness, Ahimsa & Inner Purification

Vice-President C. P. Radhakrishnan addressed the Mahaparva Kshamapana Ceremony 2026 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, on 4 October 2026.
The event was organised by the Bhagwan Mahavir Memorial Committee and Jain Mahasabha Delhi, highlighting Jain values of forgiveness and non-violence and their relevance to Viksit Bharat @ 2047.

Jainism has 24 Tirthankaras. Rishabhanatha was the first and Mahavira the 24th and last.
Mahavira was born near Vaishali (Bihar) and is traditionally linked to the Ikshvaku/Jnatrika clan. His predecessor, Parshvanatha, was the 23rd Tirthankara.
The Five Mahavratas are: Ahimsa, Satya, Asteya, Aparigraha and Brahmacharya.
Parshvanatha taught four, and Mahavira added Brahmacharya.
The Three Jewels (Triratna) are: Right Faith, Right Knowledge and Right Conduct.
Kshamapana (or Kshamavani) is the day of seeking forgiveness, observed at the end of Paryushana. The greeting is “Micchami Dukkadam“.
Pratikraman is the Jain ritual of introspection and repentance for faults.
Jainism has two main sects, Digambara and Svetambara. The split is linked to the famine in Magadha and the migration led by Bhadrabahu.

Jain councils: First at Pataliputra (led by Sthulabhadra); Second at Vallabhi (led by Devardhi Kshamashramana), where the Svetambara canon was compiled.
Jain literature: the canon is the Agamas (Svetambara), and the language is Prakrit/Ardhamagadhi.
Jain architecture: Dilwara Temples (Mount Abu); Gommateshwara/Bahubali at Shravanabelagola (Karnataka); Udayagiri-Khandagiri caves (Odisha).
Jainism in Tamil Nadu: the Tamil epics Silappatikaram (Ilango Adigal) and Jivaka Chintamani are linked to Jain authors.

Source: PIB

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to freedom fighter Shyamji Krishna Varma on his birth anniversary on 4 October 2026, remembering his courage, dedication and contribution to India’s freedom struggle.

Shyamji Krishna Varma was a revolutionary, freedom fighter and a pioneer of Indian nationalism abroad.
He was born on 4 October 1857 in Mandvi, Kutch (Gujarat).
He was a Sanskrit scholar and a barrister, and he was influenced by Swami Dayanand Saraswati.
He founded the Indian Home Rule Society in London in 1905.
He established India House in London in 1905 as a hostel and centre for Indian students.
He started the monthly journal The Indian Sociologist in 1905.
He announced scholarships for Indian students to study in England, named after Herbert Spencer and others.
Veer Savarkar, Madan Lal Dhingra, Lala Har Dayal and Madame Cama were linked with India House and his circle.
He later shifted to Paris and then Geneva, where he died on 30 March 1930.
His ashes were brought back to India in 2003 by Narendra Modi, then Chief Minister of Gujarat, and a memorial, Kranti Teerth, stands at Mandvi.

Indian Home Rule Society (1905, London) is different from the Home Rule Leagues of Tilak and Annie Besant (1916).
India House was the centre of revolutionary nationalism among Indians in Britain.
Madan Lal Dhingra assassinated Curzon Wyllie in 1909, after which India House was closed.
Madame Bhikaiji Cama unfurled the first version of the Indian flag at Stuttgart (1907).
Ghadar Party (1913, USA) and Berlin Committee are other revolutionary movements abroad.
Swadeshi and Boycott movements of 1905 (Partition of Bengal) form the background of this period.

Source: PIB