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23 PROHIBITED FOOD (ABAKSHYA) AND DISCARDING
CERTAIN OCCUPATIONS (KARMADAN)
It is possible to live without eating prohibited food (Abhakshya). This food causes violence to jivas. If we eat it, violence is caused to the jivas dwelling in it. Moreover, prohibited food provokes aberrations and distortions. Therefore, shravaks and shravikas should renounce prohibited food throughout their lives. There are 22 kinds of prohibited food. They are as follows: (1) Taking food in the night; (2 to 5) the four Maha vigais (sinful types of food) such as meat, liquors, honey, butter. These four kinds of food contain countless jivas of the same colour. Others also admit this truth. Eggs, cod-liver oil and liverinjections are also included in meat. Honey contains countless jivas and flying jivas fall into it; get stuck and die. Some honeybees which collect it get caught in it and die. Microscopic creatures appear in butter; (6 to 10) the fruits of five types of trees of the banyan group such as Peepal, Vata, Gular (Sycamore), Plaksh etc. They contain countless jivas; (11 to 15) ice-particles, hail-stones; opium etc., are poisonous; all kinds of clay, brinjals etc.
* 16 fruits and vegetables having too many seeds such as brinjal,
chivad (Pomegranate), Poppies, Anjeer (fig fruits), Papyres
etc. which contain closely packed seeds. * 17 useless fruits such as Jambola, Jujubi etc. soft groundnuts
etc. * 18 unknown fruits. * 19 Sandhan = Raw pickles not properly exposed to sunlight,
without much oil. * 20 spoilt juice. That means the juice whose colour, smell etc. have been spoilt. (i) Stale food, boiled rice, roti (cake) rice, soft poori, thick
roti, sweets etc. (ii) Preparations made out of curds, and butter-milk two
nights ago.
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