Words For Violence In Seniors Of Jaina Canon

Author(s): Colette Caillat
Publisher: Colette Caillat

Page 18

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Colette Caillat
A perfect complement or periphrase is provided by Sūy 2.6.5 (=811), where ahimsaya is expanded by savva-payāṇukampī (sarva-prajánukampin), “who has compassion on all", followed by dhamme thiya (dharme sthita), "wellgrounded in the Law", and contrasted with āya-danda “brutal”, “violent"%. undoubtedly the positive aspect of ahiņsā is already emphasised in the old canonical scriptures, so clearly that the later authors will quote them when teaching dayā, "compassion”.97
In the above passages it can be seen how grammar, vocabulary, style combine to impress upon the Jaina mind the necessity to respect and spare all life, "not to injure" (na HIMS) the living: there is little doubt that the seniors of the canon insist on "non-injury" (ahimsā) so consistently that from the start Jainism can be termed a doctrine of non-violence, ahimsā-samaya.98 There is no denying that ahimsā is an old concept in the Indian traditions: H.-P. Schmidt has shown how it has originated, has evolved, has been transformed, enriched, and has become essential in India.'' But it is no less certain that from the beginning it was central in the Jaina system, which has explored it indefatigably. As far as the seniors of the canon are concerned, it is clear that the vocabulary relating to (non-)violence is particularly rich. Some terms appear to be archaic, technical and of limited use, thus pāņaivāya, which seems to refer to the destructive process itself. Others have a comparatively wide semantic range, thus HAN, which moreover, is abundantly used also because of its grammatical vitality. As for the aggressive process, its beginning is expressed by such phrases as dandam (sam)ārambhai, while the verbal and nominal forms of HIMS point to its final result.
In a way these two last expressions refer to the two essential moments characterizing brutal and cruel undertakings, which they summarize, as they do in Asoka's fourth Major Rock-Edict when the emperor contrasts his own benevolence with his predecessors' brutal behaviour. Girnar writes: (A) vaļhito eva prāņārambho vihiņsā ca bhūtānam; (C) aja vadhite (sic) 1./ anārambho prāņāņam avihīsā bhūtāṇam, "killing of animals and injury of livings beings were only made to grow; now on the contrary ...". In this antithetic statement, prāņārambho and anārambho prāņānam mark the initial phase of the conduct which had previously ended in vihimsā, but now culminates in perfect benevolence, a-vihisā. Thus the Jaina phraseology