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HandWiki. Sallekhana. Encyclopedia. Available online: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/33899 (accessed on 19 September 2026).
HandWiki. Sallekhana. Encyclopedia. Available at: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/33899. Accessed September 19, 2026.
HandWiki. "Sallekhana" Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/33899 (accessed September 19, 2026).
HandWiki. (2022, November 10). Sallekhana. In Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/33899
HandWiki. "Sallekhana." Encyclopedia. Web. 10 November, 2022.
Sallekhana
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Sallekhana (IAST: sallekhanā), also known as Samlehna, Santhara, Samadhi-marana or Sanyasana-marana; is a supplementary vow to the ethical code of conduct of Jainism. It is the religious practice of voluntarily fasting to death by gradually reducing the intake of food and liquids. It is viewed in Jainism as the thinning of human passions and the body, and another means of destroying rebirth-influencing karma by withdrawing all physical and mental activities. It is not considered as a suicide by Jain scholars because it is not an act of passion, nor does it deploy poisons or weapons. After the sallekhana vow, the ritual preparation and practice can extend into years. Sallekhana is a vow available to both for Jain ascetics and householders. Historic evidence such as nishidhi engravings suggest sallekhana was observed by both men and women, including queens, in Jain history. However, in the modern era, death through sallekhana has been a relatively uncommon event. There is debate about the practice from a right to life and a freedom of religion viewpoint. In 2015, the Rajasthan High Court banned the practice, considering it suicide. Later that year, the Supreme Court of India stayed the decision of the Rajasthan High Court and lifted the ban on Sallekhana.

freedom of religion samlehna right to life

References

  1. Tukol 1976, p. 4.
  2. Vijay K. Jain 2012, p. 87-91.
  3. Tukol 1976, p. 5.
  4. Pravin K. Shah, Twelve Vows of Layperson , Jainism Literature Center, Harvard University http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~pluralsm/affiliates/jainism/jainedu/12vows.htm
  5. Williams 1991, p. 166.
  6. Kakar 2014, p. 174.
  7. Dundas 2002, pp. 179–181.
  8. Settar 1989, p. 113.
  9. Sundara, A.. "Nishidhi Stones and the ritual of Sallekhana" (PDF). https://isjs.in/sites/isjs.in/files/docs/Nishidhi%20Stones%20by%20A.%20Sundara.pdf. 
  10. Vijay K. Jain 2012, p. 116.
  11. Wiley 2009, p. 181.
  12. Tukol 1976, pp. 7–8.
  13. Jaini 1998, p. 231.
  14. Jaini 2000, p. 16.
  15. Battin 2015, p. 46.
  16. According to Somasundaram, Sallekhana is allowed in Jainism when normal religious life is not possible because of old age, extreme calamities, famine, incurable disease or when a person is nearing their death.[20]
  17. Battin 2015, p. 47.
  18. Battin 2015, p. 48.
  19. Mascarenhas, Anuradha (25 August 2015), "Doc firm on Santhara despite HC ban: I too want a beautiful death", The Indian Express, archived from the original on 4 December 2015, https://web.archive.org/web/20151204114602/http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/doc-firm-on-santhara-despite-hc-ban-i-too-want-a-beautiful-death/ 
  20. Champat Rai Jain 1917, pp. 58–64.
  21. Williams 1991, p. 170.
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  23. Vijay K. Jain 2011, p. 111.
  24. Svetambara and Digambara are two major sects of Jainism. See Jain schools and branches.
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  43. Pechilis & Raj 2013, p. 90.
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  52. article 15 of India Constitution
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  65. Timms 2016, p. 167.
  66. Hayes 2016, p. 16.
  67. Arvind Sharma 1988, p. 102.
  68. Olivelle 2011, p. 208 footnote 7.
  69. Brick, David (April–June 2010). "The Dharmasastric Debate on Widow Burning". Journal of the American Oriental Society 130 (2): 203–223. 
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  71. Olivelle 2011, pp. 208–223.
  72. The heroic path is explained as dying in a just battle on the side of dharma (right, good), and equivalent. The Great Journey is walking north without eating till one dies of exhaustion.[72] A similar practise known as Vadakirutthal (literally facing north) was prevalent in Sangam period in Tamilnadu. It is mentioned in Tamil anthologies such as in Puranaanooru.[20]
  73. Olivelle 1992, pp. 134 footnote 18.
  74. Olivelle 1978, pp. 19–44.
  75. Sprockhoff, Joachim Friedrich (1979). "Die Alten im alten Indien Ein Versuch nach brahmanischen Quellen" (in German). Saeculum (Bohlau Verlag) 30 (4). doi:10.7788/saeculum.1979.30.4.374.  https://dx.doi.org/10.7788%2Fsaeculum.1979.30.4.374
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