Words For Violence In Seniors Of Jaina Canon

SR No.: 269729
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Colette Caillat
Publisher: Colette Caillat
Total Pages: 30
Language: English
Classification: Article
File Size: 3 MB

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Colette Caillat
Evidently musā-väi refers to the second great vow (not to lie), and hisse (himsrah) to the first.
4.2. Can the above lexical choices be accounted for?
As far as aivāya is concerned, it has been seen to be of limited use: it occurs mostly in the compound pāņdivāya, is certainly felt to be archaic and technical; moreover it does not seem to be possessed of a regular privative counterpart, whereas the pairs himsā: ahimsā, or vihiņsā: a-vihiņsā are well established.
As for HAN, though the nominal derivation does not seem to have been extremely productive in the seniors of the Jaina canon, the verbal forms are conspicuous for their great number and variety. By contrast the paradigm of HIMS is relatively poor, as the following examples show.
Apart from the usual pr. ind. 3 sg. (vi)himsař - (-himsae) (Āyār, Sūy, Utt, Dasav), the opt. (vi)himsejjā is commonly met with (ib.); Ayār 1 also has three occurrences of the 3. aor. himsi(m)su. Moreover, Dasav uses the part. pr. vihimsanto, and Āyār 1 the (exceptional) ahimsamänð (p. 44.13* =1.8.4.13).
Leaving apart these forms, a noteworthy sequence associates, in the 3. person (sg. / pl.), the aor., pres., and future. Similar phrases, whether positive or negative recur:
app-ege "himsimsu me iti vā vahanti, app-ege 'himsanti me' tti vā vahanti, app-ege 'himsissanti me' tti vā vahanti (Ayār p.5.16 = 1.1.6.5),89 "some people kill (animals) thinking 'they have injured me, injure me, will injure me'".
The negative counterpart occurs Sūy 2.2.6 (= 696.1):
'no himsimsu me' tti, 'no himsanti me' tti, 'no himsissanti me' ti.
Is it because HIMS is associated with the first of the great vows prohibiting all injury? It is remarkable that the verbal forms of this root are often used in negative sentences, as can be seen in the pādas where HAN and HIMS are exchangedoo; similarly the nominal forms derived from the same root are