Journal
ofIndian
and BuddhistStudiesVol.64,No.3,March 2016(77)
Under
Which
Conditions
Is
sallekhana
Permitted
forJain
Laity?
HOTTA
Kazuyoshi
Introduction
In
Jainism,
the
practice
offasting
untodeath
is
known
as sallekhandi.Since
earlytimes,
suchfasting
has
been
practiced
not onlyby
mendicantsbut
alsoby
laypersons.
5ince
sallekhandi, whichis
akind
of voluntarydeath,
was criticized as constituting suicide,i)sorne
Jain
monkshave
emphasizedthat
sallekhana and suicidediffer
in
variouspoints.
This
paper
fbcuses
onthe
conditions under which sallekhanais
permissible
forJain
laity
through
an examination of5'ravakaca-ra
texts
concerningthe
codefbr
laypersons.
2)First,
Iwill survey the various word
forms
ofsallekhanain
the
texts
belonging
to
this
genre.
Second,
I
willdetermine
the
place
that
sallekhandiholds
in
the codefor
laypersons.
FinallM
I
will examinethe
conditions under which thepractice
of sallekhanais
permitted.
1.
Word-Forms
ofsallekhana-The
word sallekhana-3)is
derived
from
root sami/likh.
It
is
consideredto
be
way ofdeath
for
the wise(paptditamara4a).`}
The
term
is
interpreted
as rneaning "toscrape ofl7'
(lekhana)
"properly"(sam)
the outerbody
andinner
passions.S}
In
Digambara
Sanskrit
texts,the word-form sallekhana'is
mostprevalent,
6)but
additionally sallekha, ')sallekhana,B) sulekhana-,9) and sallesarpaiO> can also
be
found.
on the otherhand,
gvetambara
Sanskrit
texts
mostly usethe
fbrm
samlekhana'.ii)Digambara
Prakrittexts
also use saUehana,i2) saliihana,i3) and sallekhana,i`) while
Svetambara
Prakrit
texts
use sarplehana-.iS)Such
differences
in
the
preverb
fbrms
have
been
pointed
out as a characteristic of the IUttvarthasatra,i6)but
can alsobe
applied toothertexts.
1119-(78)
Under Which ConditionsIssallekhandPermittedfbrJain
Laity?(HoTTA)
2.
The
Place
of sallekhana"-in
the
Codes
for
Laypersons
Mest S'ravaka-caratexts
discuss
twelve vratas consisting offive
aptuvratas, threegu"avratas,
andfbur
s'iksa-vratas.The
contents ofthe
five
a"uvratas are commonto
atltexts,
whilethe
contents ofthe
gu"avratas
and s'iksavratas vary.Some
texts countsallekhana as one ofthe s'iksdivratas.i')
Other
texts
discuss
sallekhana- even though theydo
not countit
as one ofthe
s'iksavratas,iS)In
particular
the
Dharrnaratnakara
(DhR),
Dharmasarngrahas'ra-vaka-ca-ra
(gr(M)),
andSagaradharmamrta
(SDhA)
eachdedicate
onechapter
to
adiscussion
ofsallekhana,and the Navapadaprakaru4avrtti(NPPV)
describes
it
in
detail
by
referring tothe story ofa role model. From the above, althoughthe
practice
of sallekhanadoes
not constitute an obligationfor
laypersons,
it
canbe
saidthat
it
is
recommended
to
enthusiasticpractitioners,
3.
Under
Which
Conditions
Is
sallekhandPermitted?
Jainism
has
made thefo11owing
three
counterarguments against the criticism thatsallekhana
is
equivalentto
suicide,i.e.,
(a)
the
conditions under which thepractice
of sallekhanais
permitted,
(b)
thedifference
ofthe
state of mindpossessed
by
apractitioner
engagingin
sallekhana and aperson
killing
aliving
being,
and(c)
the
five
types
oftransgression
ofthe
rulespertaining
to
sallekhana. As spaceis
limited,
thediscussien
below
is
limited
to
(a)
in
this
paper.
i")The
Umdsvamis'ra-vaka-cara
(gr(U))
andSra'vakacarasaroddhara
(Sr(PN))
list
thefoIlowing
six conditions,
i.e.
(i)
agreat
famine,
(iD
afatal
disease,
(iii)
old age,(iv)
in
case oneis
about
to
be
ki11ed
by
hostile
forces,
(v)
in
case the asceticpractices
mightbe
lost,
and(vi)
in
case oneis
atdeath's
doon
20)ThePraffnottarus'rctvakacara
(Sr(S))
lists
(1)
old age,(2)
lack
ofphysical abilitM(3)
afatal
disease,
(4)
an unavoidable calamity and(s)
agreat
famine.2i)
Furtherrnore,
phrases
equivalentto
(v)
and(vi)
above are also added.22)The
imrusarthanus'as-
ana(PM)
also
lists
thefo11owing
five
conditions,i.e.,
(1)
afatal
disease,
(2)
an unavoidable calarnity(3)
in
case one's selficontrol mightbe
destroyed
by
ill-doers,
(4)
in
casesin
which water orfire
might cause one'sdeath,
and(s)
in
case oneknows
one's endthrough
inauspicious
signs. 23)The
Dharmasaipgrahasi'avakctcara(Sr(M))
lists
(1)
agreat
famine,
(2)
an unavoidable calamity; and(3)
afatal
disease,24)
and alsoUnder Which ConditionsIssallekhanaPermitted
fbrJain
Laity?(HoT'rA) (79)
Ratnakara4das'ra-vakacara
(RK)
andthe
Ratnakarapdas'ravakacaratika(RKT)
list
(1)
an unavoidable calamity;(2)
agreat
famine,
(3)
old age, and(4)
afatal
disease
alongside aphrase
thatis
equivalentto
(v).
26)TheDharmopades'aptyasavarsagravakdicara
(SR(B))
lists
the
samefbur
conditions,but
lacks
aphrase
corresponding to(v).
2')TheCa-ritrasara
(cs)
lists
(1)
an unavoidable calamitM(2)
agreat
farnine,
and(3)
old age as well as aphrase
equivalent to(v).
The Ldtisarrihita(LS)
lists
(1)
old age,(z)
an unavoidable calamitM and(3)
afatal
disease.
28)Siddhasenagaptn
interprets
the
content ofUmasvati's commentaryon
the
Tattvarthastitra
asthe
tirne
whendharma
and a-vafyaka aredamaged
based
onthe
fo11owing
threedefects
(dosa):2")
(1)
kala
(hard
times
or agreat
famine),
(2)
samhananadaurbalya(weakening
ofthe
body),30)
and(3)
upasarga(calamity
causedby
agod,
man, an animal or oneselO.Jinabhadra
alsointerprets
it
asthe
samethree
situations,but
he
does
not rnention agreat
farnine.
Akalafika
and Vidyanandin mentionthe
casein
whichavatfyaka
is
destroyed
throughdamage
tothe senses causedby
(1)
old age and(2)
disease,
whilethe
ibgas'a-stra
(YS)
and Ybgas'a-stravrtti(YSV)
list
casesin
which(1)
one cannotpractice
the
sixavaEfyakas
and(2)
oneis
atdeath's
door.
The
othertexts
only mention thatdeath
isnearfor
some reason. 3i)From
the
above,it
canbe
said that an unavoidable calamity, agreat
famine,
old age, and afatal
disease
are essential conditions, andphrases
such as `'in case oneis
atdeath's
door"
and "forthe
purpose
ofdharmd'loosely
encompass thesefour
conditions.These
fbur
conditions aredecreased
in
number as needed andin
thelast
case,the
expression "in case one
is
atdeath's
door"
incorporates
allofthem.4.
Conclusion
The
fo11owing
stanza takenfrom
theksastilakacampa
(YTC)
skillfu11y expresses thebackground
in
whichthese
conditions were established. "Iftheking
whohas
learned
amilitary art
for
twelve
years
fe11
into
disorder
in
thefield,
what canbe
a military artfor
him?
The
past
conduct ofthe monk whois
atdeath's
door
is
the same."32) This stanzaimplies
the
difference
between
sallekhandi and suicide.That
is
to
say; sallekhanais
areligious
practice
in
which onedies
withdignity
for
the
teachings
ofJainism.'Iexpress my sincere
gratitude
toDr,ShinFtijinaga(National
InstituteofTechnology, Miyakonoj6College)and Dr,Tomoyuki Uno
(Chikushi
Jogakuen
University)fbr
providing
me with generous access tothetextsconsultedfbr
thispaper.
-1121-(80)
Under Which ConditionsIssallekhana PermittedforJain
Laity?(HoT'TA)
Notes1)
Tukol lg76 argues
fbr
sallekhandi from the viewpoint ofajudge, Recently, the relationbetween
sallekhana and suicide
have
become
a majorpublic
issue.
See
`lainpractjce
of Santharaallowedby
Supreme Court," lndia 7bdcty:
http:11indiatodayLintoday.inlstoryLjain-practice-of-santhara-allowed-by-suprerrie-court!11462019.html(the
last
browsed
date
October 28,2015), 2) Asfbr
a
previous
study on thisissue,
see Williams1963: 166-172;Sogani1967: 117-119; Bhargava 1968:139-142. As
fbr
a studybased
ongvetambara
canonical texts andinscriptions,
seeCaillat
1977. 3) As totheother various names, see Settar1989:95-98. 4)As
tothedivision
ofdeath
inJainacanonical texts,see Schubring 1935:g16s,
5) T(P) g705.As to the examples ofsallekha inPalicanonical texts,see Kawasaki 2005. 6) KAT,CPT,CS,T(A), T(P),T(Bh), T(V),
T(g),DhR, PAA, PASU, RK,RKT,LS,
gr(A),
gr(AD),
Sr(U),
Sr(PN),
Sr(B),
Sr(M),
Sr(S),
SDhA, SRS,HP. Doha andgrDK
do
not use thewordderived
from
the root samt/7ikh-. 7) PP,RM, VC,8) YTC. 9) BhDhU, 10)
Sr(G).TheetymologyofthiswQrdformisunknown.
11) T(U), T(S),T(H),NPPS4 PRE PRPX4YS,YSV,SrDKY
SrPrV
12) CP, 13) KA,BhS(D).According tothevariant ofKA, thereare
four
rnanuscripts which use salreha4a. 14)gr(V).
Is) NPegrPr.
16) SeeKanakura 1944:174. 17)CP,
CPT,
Doha,PP,BhDhU, BhS(D),RM, VC,Sr(G),
Sr(V),
18) KA, KAT, CS,T(A),T(U),T(P),T(Bh),T(V),T(g),T(S),T(H), DhR, PAA, PASU, PRP, PRPY YTC,YS,YSY RK,RKT,LS,Sr(A),
Sr(AD),
gr(U),
Sr(PN),
Sr(B),
Sr(M),
Sr(S),
SrDK,
SrDKY
SrPr,
grPrM
SDhA, SRS, HP. As to sallekhana',gr(PN)
states almost the same contents asSr(U).
The contents ofguravratas
and s'iksavratas of US andgr`vS>
are not clear.Sr(AD)
seems not toinclude sallekhanain
s'iksa-vrtttas, 19) SDhA isakind
of anthology; so Ido
notdiscuss
itinthispaper.
20)Sr(U)
450-451(-
Sr(PN)
349-350). 21)gr(S)
22.3-5. 22)Sr(S)
22.11ab. 23) PAA 99-100. 24)
Sr(M)
7.21. 25)gr(M)
7.9-10, 26)RK
122.KAT
quotes
thisstanza andfo11ows
itsopinion.Sr(G)
isalmost the same as RK. Seegr(G)
3.50.27)
SR(B)
5.3. 28)CS,
pp.
260-261;
LS233. 29) T(S)on T(U)7.17.T(S)inserts
theword"mararpam."
30)
As
tothe
word saTnhanana, see Kawasaki 2014:442. 31) YTC 891-895;gr(A)
6.98;SrPrV
onSrPr
377, 380, 383; SRS 31.61;HP 58.160-161. Furthermore,we can categorizeKA,CP,BhDhU,BhS(D), and PASU intothis
group.
32) YTC 898.Primary Literatureand Abbriviaritons
US UPdsakasaiTiskaraofPadmanandin inPaficavim.s'ati.Ed,A.N.Upadhye and H.L.Jain.JivarajaJaina
Grantham51a, no. Io.
Solapar:
Jaina
SarpskrtiSarpraksakaSahgha, 1962.KADvadas'aJnupreksa
ofKarttikeya.Ed.A. N. upadhye,
Srimad
RajacandraJaina
Sastramata.
Agas:Srimad
Rajacandra
ASrama,
1960.KAT Dvdidas'a-nupreksctttka'ofgubhacandra.
SeeKA.CP Caritrupra-bh.rtain
Astapa-hudaof Kundakunda. Ed,PannalalaSahityacirya.Sonagir: Bhiratavarsiya Anekanta VidvatParisad, 1989-199o,clrTCaritraprabh.rtatikaofSrutasagara.
SeeCP.CS Caritrusdraof Camurpdaraya.See
SASI.
T(A)Iuttvdirthasatrawith commentary of Akalanka
(Rojava-rttika).
Ed.MahendrakumiraJaina.
sth ed.Bharatiya
Jfianapitha
MtirtideviJaina
Granthamala, SamskrtaGrantha,
nos. 10,20.New Delhi:UnderWhich ConditionsIssallekhanct Permitted
forJain
Laity?<HoTTA)
(81)
Ed.
Mody
Keshavlal
Premchand,
Bibliotheca
Indica,
Calcutta:
Asiatic
Society
1903.T(P)
7icittvarthasatra
with commentary of PbjyapAda(Sarvarthasiddhi).
Ed. PhttlacandraSiddhantaSastri,2nd ed. Bharatiya
Jfianapitha
MartideviJainaGranthamala,
Samskrta
Grantha,
no. 13.Vdrdnasi:
Bharatlya
Jfianapitha,
1971, T(Bh) TUttvarthasUtrawith commentary of Bhaskaranandin(Tlattvarthav.rtti).
Ed.A,S5ntiraja
S5stri.
Mysore: University of Mysore Oriental Library; 1944. T(V)1lattvarthasatrawith commentry of Vidyanandin
(7tittvarthaglokavarttika).
Ed. ManoharalalaNyayaSastrin.SaraswatiOrientalResearch SanskritSeries,no. 16.Ahmedabad: SarasvatiPustaka
Bharpdara,1998. T(S) 1lattvarthastitruwith commentary of
Srutas5gara
(TUttvarthavrtti),
Ed. MahendrakumaraJaina.
2nd ed. BharatiyaJfianapitha
MtirtidevlJaina
Granthamala, SamskrtaGrantha,
no. 4,NewDelhi:
Bharatiya
JfiAnapitha,
1999.T(S)fottvarthasiltrawith commentary ofSiddhasenagarpin,
Ed. HiralalRasikdasKapadia.Sresthi
Devacandra LalabhaiJainapustakoddhara,
nos. 67,76.BombaM 1926. T(H) 1icittvarthastitrawith commentary ofHaribhadra and
Jinabhadra.
Editor unknown. Surat:
griratnapuriyagresthirsabhadevajIkeSarimalajijainaSvetarpbarasarpstha,
1936.Doha Savayadhammadoha. See
SASI.
DhR DharmaratndkaraofJayasena. Ed.A.N.Upadhye.Jivaraja
Jaina
Granthamala, no. 24. SoLapar:Jaina
SarpskrtiSamraksaka Sangha, 1974. NPP Navapadaprukararpaof Devagupta.Editorunknown. Bombay:SrTJinagEsana
Aradhana
Trest,
vie sarpe2045.NPPV Navapadaprakara4avrttiofYaSodeva,
See
NPP. PAAPuruljarthanus'as-
ana ofGovinda. SeeSAS3.
PASU Purusarthasidd}tyupdyaof Amptacandra,Editor
unknown.grimad
Rajacandra
Jaina
gastramala,
no. 7,AgEs:SriparamaSrutaprabhavakamarpdala,
1977.PP Padmapurana ofRaviserpa.Ed.
PannalalaJaina.BharatTyaJfianapithaMartideviJainaGranthamala,SamskrtaGrantha,no. 21.New
Delhi:Bharatiya
Jfianapitha,
2003. PRP PraE;amaratiprakararpaof Umasvati. Editor unknown.gresrhidevacandralalabha-ijainapustakoddhara,
no. ss.Bombay:Sresthidevacandralalabha'lj'aina-pustakeddharasarpstha,
1940,PRPV
Pras'amaratiprakararpa
of Haribhadra, See PRP. BhDhUBhavyadharmopades'opdsaka-dlyayanaof
Jinadeva.
SeeSAS3.
BhS(D) Prak.rtabhjvasarpgraha ofDevasena. See
SAS3,
YTC YasiastilakacampUof Somadeva, Ed. KailaSacandraSastri.
BharatiyaJfianapltha
MartideviJaina
Granthamala, Sarpsk;ta Grantha, no. 2s, Vararpasi:Bharatiya" /
Jfianapitha,
1964.YS Ybgas'a-straofHemacandra. Ed.MuniJambavijaya. Murribar:SriJaina
SahityaVikisaMarpdqla,1977.YSV Ybgas'a'stravrttiof Hemacandra, SeeYS. RK Ratnakarandas'ra-vaka'caraof
Samantabhadra.
Ed.Jugalakigora
Mukhtara. MarpikacandraDigambaraJaina GranthamEla, no. 24,Bombay: Marpikacandra Digambara
Jainagranthamala
Samiti, vie sarpe 1982. RKTRatnakarandas'ravakacaratika-of Prabhacandra. See RK. RM Ratnarndlaof
givakoti.
SeeSAS3,
LsLatisamhita-of Rajamalla. Ed. DaravarilalaNyayatirtha. Marpikacandra Digambara
Jaina
Granthamala,no, 26.Bornbay:MarpikacandraDigarnbara
Jainagranthamala
5amiti,vie sarpe 1984.VC Virira-n'gacaritaofJatasirphanandin. Ed.A.N.Upadhye. BharatavarsiyaAnekanta VidvatParisad,
no, 24.Varanasi:BharatavarsiyaAnekanta Vidvat Parisad,lgg6.
SASI
S'ravakacarusaipgraha,vol. 1.Ed.Hiralala
Sastri.
Jivaraja
Jaina
Granthamala, Hindi Vibhaga, no. 27.Solfipar:Jaina
Sarpskrti SarpraksakaSangha,
lg76.SASz
Sra'vakacarttsarpgraha,
vol. 2.Ed. HiralaiaSastri,
Jivaraja
Jaina
Granthamala,
Hindi
Vibhaga,
no. 28.SolapUr:
Jaina
Sarpskrti
SarpraksakaSangha, lg76.SAS3
S'ra-vakdica-rusarrigraha,vol. 3.Ed. Hiralila
Sistri.
Jivaraj"aJaina
Granthamala, HindiVibhaga,no. 2g,SolapUr:
Jaina
SarpskrtJiSarpraksakaSangha, 2003.Sr(A)
Amitagatis'ra-vaka-caraof Amitagati.See(82)
under which ConditionsIssallekhana- PermittedfbrJain
Laity?(HorrA)
SASI.
Sr(AD)
Vratoclyotanas'ra'vaka-caraof Abhradeva. SeeSAS3,
Sr(U)
Umasvamfs'ra-vakacaraofUmasvamin.
See
SAS3.
Sr(G)
Gu"abhasa4aSravakacara of Gurpabhasarpa.SeeSAS.
Sr(PN)
Sra-vaka-carasaroddhara
of Padmanandin. SeeSAS3,
Sr(B)
Dharmopades'apty[isavarsctEfravakacaraofBrahrnanernidatta.See
SAS2,
Sr(M)
Dharniasarrigrahas'ravaka-caraof Medhavin. SeegAS2.
Sr(V)
vasunandis'ravaka-caraof Vasunandin, Ed. Hirirala
Jaina.
BharatiyaJfianapitha
MartideviJaina
Granthamala, Prakrta Grantha, no, 3. Vararpasi:Bharatiya
Jfianapitha,
1952.Sr(VS)
Vratasaras'ra'vaka'cara,Author unknown.
See
SAS3.
Sr(S)
PraSnottams'ra-vakaca-raof Sakalakirti,SeeSAS2,
SrDK
S'ra-ddhadinakrtyaof Devendra, Editorunknown. Bombay:jinagasana
Aradhana
Trest,
vie sarTio 2045.
SrDKV
S'raddhadinakrtyavrttiof Devendra. SeeSrDK.
grPr
SravakapTzv'n-apti
ofUmasvati.
Ed, BalacandraSastri.
2nd ed. BharatiyaJfianapitha
MUrtideviJaina
Grantharnala,
PralcrtaGrantha, no. 8.New Delhi:Bharatiya
Jfianapitha,
1999.SrPrV
S'raffvakapnv'nrvaptiv.rtti
ofHaribhadra.See
SrPr.
SDhA SagdiradharmamrtaofAgadhara.
Ed.KailagacandraSEstri.
BharatiyaJfianapitha
ManideviJaina
Granthamala, Sarpskna Grantha, no. 47. Vararpasi:BharatiyaJfianapitha,
2000.SRS
SubhaJs.
itaratnasarridoha
ofAmitagati. Ed.BalacandraSiddhantaSastrLJivaraja
Jaina
Granthamala,
Hindi
Vibh2ga, no. 31.Solapar:JainaSamslcrtiSamraksaka Sangha, 1977, HPHarivarps'apuraoa of
Jinasena.
Ed. PannalalaJaina.
BharatiyaJfianapitha
MartideviJaina
Grantharnala, Sarpsk;taGrantha,no, 27.Var5rpasT:BharatiyaJfianapitha,
1962.Secondary Literature
Bhargava, Dayanand. 1968.Jaina Ethics,Delhi:MotilalBanarsidass. Caillat,Colette.1977."Fasting
unto Death According to the
Jaina
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Kazuyoshi
te
MiUX.
2oos."Shini
itaru
dary'iki:
Seinarugirei
kajisatsu
ka?"
fiV:E6
uaft:
ee
7:it6ueJkL7bli
e
ge7bts
?
Shiseigakukenkya
fl!k\blfi
1O:76-96.Kanalcura Ensh6
SA
eq
fl,..
1944.Indoseishinbunka
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}-E
pi]its2L"(.Tokyo:Baiftikan.
KawasakiYutaka
ptose.
2oos.`'Paributten
ni arawareru sallekha t6no goni tsuite"7S' iJ
ll,M
O:N2'L6
sallekha{Oge.
t:OV}(.Jainakyo-
kenkyii
t7ktl
tXblee
11:21-51.2014.
"Mahavira
no shintai toBudda no shintai" V A "7
i
'l7
(Dfica;
t
tLL
ve
(Dfit6
.InOkuda Sh6bsensei shoju
kinen
IndogakuBukkyjgaku
ronshaaj
N
ee
re
ft
tstwfi
E'dft
-f >/le7tAnj
\whfi,
438-445.Tokyo:K6seiShuppansha.
Schubring, walther. Ig3s. DieLehre
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