Paryushana culminates on its final day, Samvatsari, the "annual" day, which is the spiritual heart of the whole festival and one of the most distinctive observances in any religion. On it, Jains perform Pratikramana, a detailed rite of confession and repentance in which they review their conduct over the past year and seek to atone for every fault, above all every act of harm (himsa) done to any living being, whether by deed, word or thought, and whether deliberate or unknowing.
Its outward and best-known form is the seeking of forgiveness from others: Jains approach family, friends and acquaintances, and increasingly send messages to the wider world, with the words "Micchami Dukkadam", "may all the wrong I have done be forgiven / may it be inconsequential", asking pardon for any hurt they have caused and freely granting it in return. The intention is to enter the new year with no unresolved enmity and a soul unburdened by unacknowledged harm, in keeping with the Jain teaching that non-violence extends to the smallest creature and that freedom from hostility toward any being is the mark of the purified. The universal, unconditional asking and granting of forgiveness makes Samvatsari a striking annual enactment of ahimsa turned inward and outward at once.