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BANERJEE : JAINISM AND NON-VIOLENCE
165
Mahāvira on Ahimsā
In the Agama texts of both the sects—Śvetāmbara and Digambara—the nature ofahimsā is straightforward. Nothing in particular was generally emphasized in a particular text. Here and there in course of his conversation with the people, he stressed on the importance of ahimsā. The passages which are recorded in the canonical literature of the Svetāmbara Jains are the glorification of ahimsā which, at a much later time, was again turned into a philosophy. For example, nonkilling, ahimsā, is regarded as one of the best and excellent dharmas in the Daśavaikālika-sūtra along with samyama (controlling of mind) and tapa (penance) in the following verse : dhammo mangalam ukkitham ahiņsā samyamo
tavo / deva vi tam namamssanti jassa dhamme sayā
mano // (I. 1.1.) “Non-violence, controlling of mind and penance are regarded as the best and excellent dhamma and even the gods bow down their heads to those who have a mind in them.”
This passage has a parallel in the Dhammapada (19.6): yam hi saccam ca dhammo ca ahimsā samyamo
da.no/ sa ve vantamalo dhiro so thero ti pavuccati ||
In the same text, it is further said that life of all beings is dear to them, and so they should not be destroyed by human beings. So in a verse life is greatly extolled :
jāvanti loe pāņā tasă adu vā thāvarā / te jāņam ajāņam vā na hane no vi ghātae II (I. VI. 9)
"In this world as many lives of both trasa and sthāvara animals are there, one should not kill them or cause to be killed with or without knowing."
The reason Mahāvīra offers for saying this is given in the next verse :
