What the tool shows
For the city and year you choose, the tool gives both Olis of the year: the Chaitra Oli in spring and the Ashvina Oli in autumn. Each is listed day by day, with the tithi at sunrise and, when the days and tithis line up, the pad of the Siddhachakra honoured on that day. The page on Navpad Oli explains the observance, the story read during it and the nine pads.
How the days are found
An Oli is nine days of ayambil, kept from the seventh tithi of the bright fortnight, Shukla 7, to the full moon. The tool takes each civil day around the month, finds the tithi current at that day’s sunrise in your city, and names the lunar month from the Sun’s sidereal sign at the new moon that began it. The Oli then begins on the day that carries Shukla 7 and ends on the day that carries the full moon, Punam.
- Chaitra Oli: Chaitra Shukla 7 to the Chaitra full moon.
- Ashvina Oli: Ashvina Shukla 7 to the Ashvina full moon.
The month is Chaitra or Ashvina in both the amanta and the purnimanta count, because both counts agree for the bright fortnight, so there is no second reckoning to choose between.
When nine tithis do not make nine days
Nine tithis should make nine days, but a tithi can fall at two sunrises, which stretches the span to ten days, or begin and end between two sunrises, which shortens it to eight. In October 2026, for instance, Shukla 7 is current at two sunrises. The tool then shows every civil day with its tithi and tells you which case applies instead of fixing the pads to the wrong days. Sanghs resolve these years in different ways: some begin a day early, for example. The full moon is the fixed end, and the start day should come from your own sangh.
The pads
When the span is exactly nine days, the tool gives the pad for each day in the usual order: Arihanta, Siddha, Acharya, Upadhyaya, Sadhu, Samyak Darshana, Samyak Jnana, Samyak Charitra and Samyak Tapa, with the colour many households follow. The colours are a devotional custom rather than a requirement. This is the Shvetambara practice; the nine-day ayambil Oli is not the characteristic Digambara observance.
A note on health
Ayambil is one meal a day of boiled grain and pulse without salt, oil, ghee, milk, curd, sugar, fruit, green vegetable or spice. Nine days of it is a real load. Anyone who takes regular medicine, has a condition affected by salt or diet, is pregnant or is elderly should speak to a doctor and to their sangh before starting. Keeping part of an Oli is a real Oli.
How far to trust it
The dates match the Chaitra and Ashvina spans on the Navpad Oli page for 2026 and Drik Panchang for the sunrise tithis. They are the astronomical days. For the fast itself, take the start day from your own sangh’s calendar, and see the Jain Panchang for the day’s pachkhan times in your city.
Frequently asked questions
↳ When does the Ayambil Oli start?
It starts on Shukla 7, the seventh tithi of the bright fortnight, in Chaitra and in Ashvina, and ends on the full moon. Choose your city and year and the tool names the civil days at your own sunrise.
↳ Why does the tool sometimes show ten days or eight days?
A tithi can be current at two sunrises or at none. That gives ten or eight civil days between Shukla 7 and the full moon. The tool shows the tithi for every day so you can see which case it is, and your sangh decides how to keep it.
↳ Is the Oli the same in every city?
The tithis are the same, but the civil day that carries a tithi depends on the local sunrise. A city far from India can differ by a day from an Indian calendar, so the tool uses the sunrise of the city you choose.
↳ Do I have to keep all nine days?
No. Many people keep one day or a few days. The full observance is nine Olis over four and a half years, and keeping part of one is a real practice. Please check with a doctor first if you have a medical condition.
↳ What if my sangh gives a different start day?
Follow your sangh. The tool reports the astronomical tithi at sunrise, and a sangh may resolve a repeated or lost tithi by its own rule. The full moon is the fixed end of the Oli.