History Sallekhana

1 history

1.1 in texts
1.2 archeology
1.3 in modern times

history

an inscription (no.130) in memory of vinayadevasena observed sallekhana. 7th century kannada script. found @ shravanbelgola, karnataka, india.



doddahundi nishidhi inscription raised in honor of western ganga king nitimarga in 869 ce observed sallekhana.



the chamber ascetics observe sallekhana @ udayagiri hills, odisha, india


in texts

the acharanga sutra (c. 5th century bce – c. 1st century bce) describes 3 forms of practice. svetambara text shravakaprajnapti notes practice not limited ascetics. bhagavati sūtra (2.1) describes sallekhana in great detail, observed skanda katyayana, ascetic of mahavira. 4th century text ratnakaranda śrāvakācāra, , svetambara text nava-pada-prakarana, provide detailed descriptions. nava-pada-prakarana mentions seventeen methods of voluntarily chosen death , of approves 3 consistent teachings of jainism. practice mentioned in 2nd century ce sangam era poem sirupanchamoolam.

the panchashaka makes cursory mention of practice , not described in dharmabindu – both texts haribhadra (c. 5th century). in 9th century text Ādi purāṇa jinasena 3 forms described. yashastilaka somadeva (10th century) describes practice. other writers vaddaradhane (10th century) , lalitaghate describe padapopagamana, 1 of forms. hemchandra (c. 11th century) describes in short passage despite detailed coverage of observances of householders (shravakachara).

according tattvartha sutra, householder willingly or voluntary adopts sallekhana when death near. according medieval era jain text, puruşārthasiddhyupāya, both ascetics , householder should court voluntarily death @ end of life , thinking sallekhana pious death. silappadikaram (epic of anklet) jain prince-turned-monk, ilango adigal, mentions sallekhana jain nun, kaundi adigal.

archeology

in south india, karnataka, memorial stone or footprint erected commemorate death of person observed sallekhana. known nishidhi, nishidige or nishadiga. term derived sanskrit root sid or sad means attain or waste away .

these nishidhis detail names, dates, duration of vow, , other austerities performed person observed vow. earliest nishidhis (6th 8th century) have inscription on rock without symbols. style continued until 10th century when footprints added alongside inscription. after 11th century, nishidhis inscribed on slabs or pillars panels , symbols. these slabs or pillars erected in mandapas (pillared pavilions), near basadi (temples), or inscription on door frame or pillars of temple.

in shravanabelgola in karnataka, ninety-three nishidhis found ranging circa 6th century 19th century. fifty-four of them belong period circa 6th 8th century. believed large number of nishidhis @ shravanabelgola follow earlier tradition. several inscriptions after 600 ce record chandragupta maurya (c. 300 bce) , teacher bhadrabahu observed vow atop chandragiri hill @ sharavnabelagola. historians such r. k. mookerji consider accounts unproven, plausible.

an undated inscription in old kannada script found on nishidhi doddahundi near tirumakudalu narasipura in karnataka. historians such j. f. fleet, i. k. sarma, , e.p. rice have dated 840 or 869 ce textual context. memorial stone has unique depiction in frieze of ritual death (sallekhana) of king ereganga nitimarga (r. 853–869) of western ganga dynasty. raised king s son satyavakya. in shravanabelgola, kuge brahmadeva pillar has nishidhi commemorating marasimha, western ganga king. inscription on pillar in front of gandhavarna basadi commemorates indraraja, grandson of rashtrakuta king krishna iii, died in 982 after observing vow.

the inscriptions in south india suggest sallekhana ascetic practice later extended jain householders. importance ideal death in spiritual life of householders ceased 12th century. practice revived in 1955 digambara monk acharya santisagara.

in modern times

sallekhana respected practice in jain community. has not been practical or general goal among svetambara jains many years. revived among digambara monks. in 1955, acharya shantisagar, digambara monk took vow because of inability walk without , weak eye-sight. in 1999, acharya vidyanand, digambara monk, took twelve-year-long vow.

between 1800 , 1992, @ least 37 instances of sallekhana recorded in jain literature. there 260 , 90 recorded sallekhana deaths among svetambara , digambara jains respectively between 1993 , 2003. according jitendra shah, director of l d institute of indology in ahmedabad, average of 240 jains practice sallekhana each year in india. of them not recorded or noticed. statistically, sallekhana undertaken both men , women of economic classes , among educationally forward jains. observed more women men.

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