Namo Arihantanam

Reference has been made to the Panca Namaskara, the best- known prayer of the Jains, It is a formula .of surrender, not request, to the five categories of praiseworthy individuals. The rolling sounds of the ancient language echo at every Jain religious gathering, chanted by all the people, who learned it in childhood.

History

Jain dharma teaches that every living thing is an individual and eternal soul, which is responsible for its own actions. Jains see their faith as teaching the individual to live, think and act in ways that respect and honor the spiritual nature of every living being. Jainism was the first religion to practice ahimsa (non-violence) as a rule of life.

The Prayer