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Compassion Towards Animals
indulging in violence against any living organism would be severely dealt with. He saw that even butchers gave up the profession of slaughtering animals for earning their bread. He asked them to take food from the Government kitchen, if they did not have any alternative source of living. Inspired by this, even the neighbouring kingdoms also followed the footsteps of King Kumarpal. They, too, prohibited sacrificing or killing of animals wherever it was done in the name of survival of the self or religion or festivities. The slaughter houses run in their respective kingdoms were also ordered to be closed by the kings. The sacrifice of animals in the name of religion that was being practised in the temple of Goddess Kantkeshwari was also banned by the ruler. That is why Kumarpal finds a lasting place in history as an ideal ruler.
The meaning is clear. Bringing the animals in this world through artificial insemination, raising them in confined space and under artificial environment, forcing them to eat food that is full of hormones, antibiotics, and other chemicals, depriving them of natural life, inflicting upon them the pain of cruel experiments and killing them at an early age-all of these are considered sinful acts and must be avoided, as preached by Jainism.
It goes further. Performing or consenting to such acts is also considered equally sinful. The sale of animal flesh, leather, ivory or anything that harms animals directly or indirectly is also undesirable, according to the same sutra.
Those, who inflict pain on animals, suffer karmic punishment i.e. punishment for their sinful deeds. For instance,
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