Rite of Jainism

Sallekhana.

The voluntary withdrawal from food at the end of a life, in stages, with the mind held even, taken only with a teacher's permission and revocable at any point. The tradition insists at length on what separates it from suicide — no aversion, no desire for death, no haste, no drugs, no violence. Indian courts have not entirely accepted the distinction.

⏱ once — at the end of a life, and only with permission◌ the person, their family, and their teacher

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What happensFood is given up in stages, then liquids, with the mind held in equanimity and the Namokar recited; it may be revoked at any point and often is

What it needsA declared terminal condition, extreme old age, or unavoidable calamity — and the formal consent of a teacher, who may refuse

What it aims atSallekhana. The tradition insists it is not suicide: no violence, no aversion, no desire for death and no haste. Around two hundred Jains a year are recorded taking it

Understanding it — context, not catechism: how this rite is held

Sallekhana, called santhara in Svetambara usage, is the voluntary and progressive withdrawal from food and then liquid at the end of life, undertaken with the mind held in equanimity. The conditions are strict and stated in the Ratnakarandaka Shravakachara and elsewhere: it may be taken only in the face of unavoidable calamity, severe famine, extreme old age or incurable disease; it requires the formal permission of a teacher, who may and does refuse; it must be free of any desire for death, aversion to life, attachment to companions, or longing for a better rebirth, all of which are named as transgressions that invalidate it; and it can be abandoned at any point, which happens. It is taken publicly, with the family present and the Namokar recited, and typically lasts days to weeks. Estimates of around two hundred cases a year in India are commonly cited. The legal fight is real: in August 2015 the Rajasthan High Court held santhara to be suicide and abetment of suicide under the Indian Penal Code; nationwide Jain protest followed within days, and the Supreme Court stayed the judgment at the end of that month. The stay stands and the underlying question has not been decided. The Jain argument is that the essential feature of suicide, passion and aversion, is exactly what sallekhana requires to be absent; the counter-argument is about coercion and about whether consent in such settings can be verified.

From the sources — the passages this rests on; concise renderings, cited

Living longer is not desired, nor is a swift death; there must be no longing for pleasure, no recollection of past enjoyment, and no desire for a future reward.
Ratnakarandaka Shravakachara, on the five transgressions that invalidate sallekhana (rendered)
The conditions that the tradition holds distinguish it from suicide, and that the 2015 Rajasthan High Court judgment did not accept.

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Suffering has a cause, and therefore an end. Buddhism · core tenet Go deeper →

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Where next

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