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What is Sallekhanā ?
the attention from meditation to mundane thoughts so as to affect the very nature of the meditation itself. The ascetic or the householder who has taken the vow should, while fasting, exert himself to attain complete detachment, purity of mind, and meditation with concentration on the real nature of the soul.
Reference may be made at this stage to the eighth Canto of Sugūra Dharmämsta (Religious Nectar for the Householder ) by Aśādhara. The work was composed before Vikrama Samvat 1300. He has emphasised the need for protection of the body so long as it is useful for attainment of Right Faith, Right Knowledge and Right Conduct. The body is mortal; if it dies, you can have another body; but if you sacrifice religion for the sake of your body, you cannot regain the sanctity of your religion which helps you in your spiritual realization. When life is coming to an end by natural cause or some calamity like a disease, or attack from an enemy, it is proper to adopt a vow of death by fasting and meditation in fulfilment of the religious vows and practices.5
Jain monks and house-holders become accustomed to fasting while following their normal course of religious life. Dr. Hermann Jacobi who has correctly assessed this aspect of Jaina life has stated, “ Among austerities, fasting is the most conspicuous; the Jainas have developed it to a kind of art and reached a remarkable proficiency in it. The usual way of fasting is to cat only one meal every second, third, fourth day, and so on down to half a year. Another form of fasting is starving oneself to death ( maraṇäntiki samlekhanā )..."6
The Ācārānga Sūtra has explained three forms of death or Sallekhanā. They are bhaktapratyakhyāna marana, ingita marana and pādapopagamana marana. The last two are distinguished by restriction of the movement of the person and the motion of his limbs.
5. Sägara Dharmāmsta, Canto VIII, Sutra 5. 6. Studies in Jainism, pp. 33-34.
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