Jinamanjari 2001 09 No 24

Author(s): Jinamanjari
Publisher: Canada Bramhi Jain Society Publication

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King's seraglio, and Sahi rule was established. Interestingly, we also find that the Buddhism of this period also considered danda punishment and a righteous war as unattached violence. We
also have many other examples of devout Jaina emperors, kings, ministers, generals, queens and a hierarchy of soldiers who had engaged themselves in wars. Jains do profess that there is no himsă which has purely pleasant and agreeable consequences; however, waging a righteous or duty bound war is a necessary evil, and to a great extent has been given legitimate justification within a Jaina philosophical context. Jaina monks do not brand those valiant fighters as mithyādṛṣṭis (heretics) because of blood they shed during wars, but considered these fighting men as individuals who have discharged their professional duties with dignity. In this context, warriors met death with a smile on their face, but with a strong and steady determination to stick to the rigid rules of their religion.
Here, the Jainas may appear to have shared a panIndian belief, but not so. As Jaini notes, "Contrary to the widely held belief that death on the battlefield is almost equal to holy martyrdom, the Jaina answer as put in the mouth of Mahāvīra shows extraordinary courage of their conviction that death accompained by hatred and violence can never be salutary and must therefore lead to unwholesome rebirths" [Padmanabh S. Jaini, 2000:141. Thus, Jaina approach departs drastically from the following non-Jaina conviction:
hato vā prāpyasi svargarṁ
jitvā vā bhōkṣyē mahīm (Bhagavad Gītā ii.37)
Slain, you will attain heaven, Conquering you will enjoy on earth
It may be recalled, that even Lakṣmaṇa, Krsna, and Śrēnika ended their lives in hell for committing himsă, and could only regain salvation by being reborn as human beings and observing austerity.
Jaina literature, both canonical and noncanonical, did not remain noncommittal on the subject himsā. The Niśītha
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