Pristine Jainism

Author(s): S M Jain
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith

Page 74

Code of Conduct : (71) one (Tīrtharikara) Rşabhadeva who gave first priority to warfare expertise (Asi). Pardoning is quality for brave and strong and not for cowards and weaklings.
क्षमा वीरस्य भूषणम् ।।
However, it is important to understand that non-violence is the basic creed in Jainism. A true Jain will not kill may cause slightest harm to any life form intentionally or negligently. There is a famous anecdote that a king asked a Jain to just kill an ant and gradually increased the reward for obeying him from few thousands to lakhs and crores and offered even half of his kingdom but the true Jain did not budge from his vow of non-violence.
The observance of five vows for saints is of more rigorous nature. They practise the vows with utmost care and caution. They will not react even in self-defence and patiently bear with atrocities of all forms. They will not even displace or disturb any life form from their abode. They will leave the place even though they are occupying it earlier if some one else wants it. Their observance of vows is therefore termed 'Mahāvratas'. Samantabhadrācārya in Ratnakaranda-śrāvakācāra describes mahāvratas in the following stanza :
पञ्चानां पापानां, हिंसादीनां मनोवच: कायै : । कृत कारितानुमोदैस्त्यागस्तु महाव्रतं महताम् ।।
Ratnakaranda-śrāvakācāra-71 Total abnegation from five sins in thought, speech, acts by self or through others and even acquiescence.
Vow of Non-Violence :
There is so much emphasis on non-violence in Jainism that it has become its distinguishing mark and its synonym. Every true Jain should not commit violence in any form to any living being. Life forms have been classified according to the number of senses present in a particular