View source for Ahimsa

{{Short description|Ancient Indian principle of nonviolence}}
{{italic title}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2016}}
{{Contains special characters|Indic}}
{{Jainism}}
{{Hinduism}}
[[File:Lord Mahavir painting.jpg|thumb|Lord [[Mahavira]], the twenty-fourth tirthankara of Jainism, and "torch-bearer" of ahimsa]]

'''{{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}}''' ({{Langx|sa|अहिंसा}}, [[IAST]]: {{IAST|ahiṃsā}}; {{IPA|sa|ɐ́.ɦĩ.sɑː|IPA}}; {{lit|nonviolence}}<ref name="Johansson2012">{{cite book|author=Rune E. A. Johansson|title=Pali Buddhist Texts: An Introductory Reader and Grammar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CXBmlQvw7PwC |year=2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-11106-8|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=CXBmlQvw7PwC&pg=PT143 143]}}</ref>) is the ancient Indian principle of [[nonviolence]] which applies to actions towards all living beings. It is a key [[virtue]] in [[Indian religions]] like [[Hinduism]], [[Jainism]], and [[Buddhism]].<ref name=evpc/>{{sfn|Dundas|2002|p=160}}<ref name=historyindia2011>{{cite book|last=Bajpai|first=Shiva|year=2011|url=http://www.himalayanacademy.com/media/books/the-history-of-hindu-india/the-history-of-hindu-india.pdf|url-status=live|title=The History of India – From Ancient to Modern Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190624073654/https://www.himalayanacademy.com/media/books/the-history-of-hindu-india/the-history-of-hindu-india.pdf |archive-date=24 June 2019|publisher=Himalayan Academy Publications|location=Hawaii, USA|isbn=978-1-934145-38-8|pages=8, 98}}</ref>

{{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} (also spelled Ahinsa) is one of the cardinal virtues<ref name=evpc/> of Jainism, where it is the first of the [[Jain Ethics|Pancha Mahavrata]]. It is also one of the central precepts of [[Hinduism]] and is the first of the [[five precepts]] of Buddhism. {{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} is<ref name="arapura">{{cite book|first=John G.|last=Arapura|editor-first1=K.R.|editor-last1=Sundararajan|editor-first2=Bithika|editor-last2=Mukerji|date=1997|title=Hindu Spirituality: Postclassical and Modern|isbn=978-81-208-1937-5|chapter=The Spirituality rof Ahiṃsā (Nonviolence): Traditional and Gandhian|pages=392–417|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ. }}</ref> inspired by the premise that all living beings have the spark of the divine spiritual energy; therefore, to hurt another being is to hurt oneself. 
{{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} is also related to the notion that all acts of violence have [[Karma|karmic]] consequences. While ancient scholars of Brahmanism had already investigated and refined the principles of 
{{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}}, the concept reached an extraordinary development in the ethical philosophy of Jainism.<ref name="evpc">{{cite book|last=Phillips|first=Stephen H.|collaboration=collaboration|editor-last=Kurtz|editor-first=Lester|year=2008|title=Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, & Conflict|edition=Second|isbn=978-0-12-373985-8|publisher=Elsevier Science|pages=1347–1356, 701–849, 1867}}</ref><ref name="chapple1990">{{cite book|last=Chapple|first=Christopher Key|year=1993|title=Nonviolence to Animals, Earth, and Self in Asian Traditions|chapter=Origins and Traditional Articulations of Ahiṃsā|publisher=State University of New York Press}}</ref> [[Mahavira]], the twenty-fourth and the last {{transliteration|sa|[[tirthankara]]}} of Jainism, further strengthened the idea in {{BCE|the 6th century}}.<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{citation |title=Mahavira |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mahavira-Jaina-teacher |encyclopedia=britannica.com |access-date=2 May 2018 |archive-date=21 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621231354/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mahavira-Jaina-teacher |url-status=live }}
|2={{cite book|last=Patel|first=Haresh|title=Thoughts from the Cosmic Field in the Life of a Thinking Insect &#91;A Latter-Day Saint&#93;|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SXgEfiNY46sC&pg=PA271|date=2009|publisher=Strategic Book Publishing|isbn=978-1-60693-846-1|page=271}}
}}</ref> About {{CE|the 5th century}}, [[Valluvar]] emphasized {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} and [[Ethics of eating meat|moral vegetarianism]] as [[virtue]]s for an individual, which formed the core of his teachings in the [[Kural]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Das|first= G. N.|year= 1997| title= Readings from Thirukkural | publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn= 8-1701-7342-6|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=pDZilIimNRIC&pg=PA11 | pages=11–12 }}</ref> Perhaps the most popular advocate of the principle of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} in modern times was [[Mohandas K. Gandhi]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Gandhi|first=Mohandas K.|year=2002|title=The Essential Gandhi: an anthology of his writings on his life, work, and ideas|publisher=Random House Digital, Inc.}}</ref>

{{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}}'s precept that humans should 'cause no injury' to another living being includes one's deeds, words, and thoughts.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kirkwood|first=W.G.|year=1989|title=Truthfulness as a standard for speech in ancient India|journal=Southern Communication Journal|volume=54|number=3|pages=213–234|doi=10.1080/10417948909372758 }}</ref><ref name=kaneda2008/> Classical [[Hindu texts]] like the [[Mahabharata]] and the [[Ramayana]], as well as modern scholars,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Struckmeyer|first=F.R.|year=1971|title=The 'Just War' and the Right of Self-defense|journal=Ethics|volume=82|number=1|pages=48–55|doi=10.1086/291828 |s2cid=144638778 }}</ref> disagree about what the principle of {{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} dictates when one is faced with [[war]] and other situations that require self-defence. In this way, historical Indian literature has contributed to modern [[Just war theory|theories of just war]] and [[self-defence]].<ref name=balkaran2012>{{cite journal|last1=Balkaran|first1=R.|last2=Dorn|first2=A.W.|year=2012|url=http://www.sareligionuoft.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/JAAR-Article-Violence-in-the-Valmiki-Ramayana-Just-War-Criteria-in-an-Ancient-Indian-Epic-.pdf|title=Violence in the Vālmı̄ki Rāmāyaṇa: Just War Criteria in an Ancient Indian Epic|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412060315/http://www.sareligionuoft.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/JAAR-Article-Violence-in-the-Valmiki-Ramayana-Just-War-Criteria-in-an-Ancient-Indian-Epic-.pdf |archive-date=12 April 2019|journal=Journal of the American Academy of Religion|volume=80|number=3|pages=659–690|doi=10.1093/jaarel/lfs036 }}</ref>

==Etymology==
The word {{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}}—sometimes spelled {{transliteration|sa|Ahinsa}}<ref name="Sanskrit dictionary">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/cgi-bin/monier/serveimg.pl?file=/scans/MWScan/MWScanjpg/mw0125-ahalyA.jpg|title=Sanskrit Dictionary Reference|website=www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de|access-date=29 December 2020|archive-date=25 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225155257/https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/cgi-bin/monier/serveimg.pl?file=%2Fscans%2FMWScan%2FMWScanjpg%2Fmw0125-ahalyA.jpg}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Standing|first=E.M.|year=1924|title=The Super-Vegetarians|journal=New Blackfriars|volume=5|number=50|pages=103–108|doi=10.1111/j.1741-2005.1924.tb03567.x }}</ref>—is derived from the Sanskrit root {{transliteration|sa|hiṃs}}, meaning to strike; {{transliteration|sa|hiṃsā}} is injury or harm, while {{transliteration|sa|a-hiṃsā}} (prefixed with the [[alpha privative]]), its opposite, is ''non-harming'' or ''[[nonviolence]]''.<ref name="Sanskrit dictionary"/><ref name="Shukavak N. Dasa">{{cite web|url=http://www.sanskrit.org/www/Hindu%20Primer/nonharming_ahimsa.html|title=A Hindu Primer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110408135457/http://www.sanskrit.org/www/Hindu%20Primer/nonharming_ahimsa.html |archive-date=8 April 2011|first=Shukavak N.|last=Dasa}}</ref>

==Historical Evolution==
Reverence for {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} can be found in Jain, Hindu, and Buddhist canonical texts. Lord Parshvanatha (the 23rd of 24 Tirthankaras of Jainism) is said to have preached {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} as one of the four vows.{{sfn|Dundas|2002|p=160}}<ref name="arapura" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Hoiberg|first=Dale|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ISFBJarYX7YC&q=Parshvanatha+four+vows&pg=PA158|title=Students' Britannica India|date=2000|publisher=Popular Prakashan|isbn=978-0-85229-760-5|language=en}}</ref><ref name=Izawa>{{cite journal|first=A.|last=Izawa|date=2008|title=Empathy for Pain in Vedic Ritual|journal=Journal of the International College for Advanced Buddhist Studies ({{transliteration|ja|Kokusai Bukkyōgaku Daigakuin Daigaku}})|volume=12|pages=78–81}}</ref> No other [[Indian religions|Indian religion]] has developed the non-violence doctrine and its implications on everyday life as much as has Jainism.{{sfn|Sethia|2004|p=2}}{{sfn|Dundas|2002|pp=176–177}}{{sfn|Winternitz|1993|pp=408–409}}

=== Pre-Vedic and Shramanic Roots Hypothesis ===
While the ''[[Rigveda]]'' (c. 1500 BCE) is the oldest surviving text in India, many scholars argue that the specific ethical practice of ''ahimsa'' originated within the non-Vedic ''[[Sramana]]'' traditions (which include [[Jainism]] and [[Buddhism]]) before being absorbed into [[Brahmanism]].{{sfn|Bronkhorst|2007|pp=14–16, 23–25}}

Some scholars, such as [[P.R. Deshmukh]], suggest that the roots of ''ahimsa'' and asceticism may date back to the [[Indus Valley Civilisation]] (c. 3300–1300 BCE), citing the discovery of seals depicting figures in the ''[[kayotsarga]]'' (standing meditation) posture common to [[Jain iconography]].{{sfn|Deshmukh|1982|pp=364–366}}{{sfn|Dundas|2002|pp=30-31}}

Indologist [[Johannes Bronkhorst]] has proposed the "[[Greater Magadha]]" theory, arguing that the eastern [[Gangetic plain]] (modern [[Bihar]]/[[Bengal]]) developed a distinct non-Vedic culture where concepts like ''[[Karma]]'', rebirth, and ''ahimsa'' originated. According to this view, the [[Vedic priesthood]] later adopted these concepts as they expanded eastward.{{sfn|Bronkhorst|2007|pp=14–16, 23–25}} Similarly, the German Indologist [[Ludwig Alsdorf]] argued that ''ahimsa'' likely began not as a moral rule but as a "magico-ritualistic" taboo against killing or harming living beings, which was part of a pan-Indian or pre-Aryan heritage later refined into an ethical system by the Jains.{{sfn|Alsdorf|2010|pp=4–6, 13–15}}

=== Evolution in the Vedic Tradition ===
The concept of ''ahimsa'' evolved gradually within the Vedic tradition.{{sfn|Tahtinen|1976|pp=2–3}} In the early Vedic period (c. 1500–1000 BCE), animal sacrifice was a central component of ritual life.{{sfn|Alsdorf|2010|pp=4–6, 13–15}} However, the concept transitioned from a ritualistic concern—avoiding injury to the sacrificer or the minute details of the ritual—to an internalized ethical virtue.{{sfn|Tahtinen|1976|pp=2–3}}

By the late Vedic era, texts like the ''[[Chandogya Upanishad]]'' (c. 8th century BCE) explicitly listed ''ahimsa'' as one of five essential virtues (along with truthfulness and charity).{{sfn|Hume|1921|pp=213–214}} The ''[[Yajurveda]]'' reflects this shifting ethos with prayers for universal peace, such as: "May all beings look at me with a friendly eye, may I do likewise, and may we look at each other with the eyes of a friend".{{sfn|Tahtinen|1976|pp=2–3}}

=== Integration into Governance ===
The principle of ''ahimsa'' moved from personal asceticism to state policy under the Mauryan Emperor [[Ashoka]] (c. 268–232 BCE). Following the [[Kalinga War]], Ashoka renounced military conquest in favor of "conquest by Dharma".{{sfn|Thapar|1961|pp=250–255}} His Rock Edicts restricted animal slaughter, established medical care for animals, and promoted non-violence as a civic duty, embedding the Shramanic value of ''ahimsa'' into the political fabric of India.{{sfn|Alsdorf|2010|pp=4–6, 13–15}}

==Hinduism==

===Ancient Vedic texts===
{{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} as an ethical concept evolved in the Vedic texts.<ref name=chapple1990/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Walli |first1=Koshelya |title=The Conception Of Ahimsa In Indian Thought |date=1974 |publisher=Bharat Manisha |location=Varanasi, India |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.546899/page/n1/mode/2up |ref={{sfnref|Walli}}|pages=113–145}}</ref> The oldest scriptures indirectly mention {{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}}. Over time, the Hindu scripts revised ritual practices, and the concept of {{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} was increasingly refined and emphasized until {{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} became the highest virtue by the late Vedic era.  The [[Yajurveda|Yajur Veda]] dated to be between {{BCE|1200}} and {{BCE|900}}, states, "may all beings look at me with a friendly eye, may I do likewise, and may we look at each other with the eyes of a friend".<ref name=chapple1990/><ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite book | title= Vishayasuchi -see the translation for Yajurveda 36.18 VE|chapter-url=http://ebooks.gutenberg.us/himalayanacademy/sacredhinduliterature/lws/lws_ch-39.html|chapter=Himsa na Kartavya: To do no harm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017133837/http://ebooks.gutenberg.us/himalayanacademy/sacredhinduliterature/lws/lws_ch-39.html |archive-date=17 October 2013}}
|2=For other occurrences of {{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} in Vedic literature, see {{cite book|page=[https://archive.org/details/vedicconcordance00bloouoft/page/151/mode/1up?view=theater 151]|title=A Vedic Concordance|author-link=Maurice Bloomfield|first=Maurice|last=Bloomfield|date=1906|location=Cambridge, Mass.|publisher=Harvard University Press|series=Harvard Oriental Series|volume=10}}
}}</ref>{{sfn|Talageri|2000}}{{page needed|date=November 2023}}{{sfn|Talageri|2010}}{{page needed|date=November 2023}}

The term {{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} appears in the text [[Taittiriya Shakha]] of the [[Yajurveda]] (TS 5.2.8.7), where it refers to non-injury to the sacrificer himself.{{sfn|Tahtinen|1964|p=2}} It occurs several times in the ''[[Shatapatha Brahmana]]'' in the sense of "non-injury".<ref>Shatapatha Brahmana 2.3.4.30; 2.5.1.14; 6.3.1.26; 6.3.1.39.</ref> The {{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} doctrine is a late Vedic era development in Brahmanical culture.<ref name="houben 1999">{{cite book | first=Henk M.|last=Bodewitz|editor-last1=Houben | editor-first1=Jan E. M. | editor-last2=Kooij | editor-first2=Karel Rijk van | title=Violence Denied: violence, non-violence and the rationalization of violence in "South Asian" cultural history | publisher=BRILL | date=1999 | isbn=978-90-04-11344-2 | page=30}}</ref> The earliest reference to the idea of non-violence to animals ({{transliteration|sa|pashu-Ahimsa}}), apparently in a moral sense, is in the Kapisthala Katha Samhita of the Yajurveda (KapS 31.11), which may have been written in about {{BCE|1500-1200}}.{{sfn|Tahtinen|1964|pp=2–3}}{{sfn|Talageri|2000}}{{page needed|date=November 2023}}{{sfn|Talageri|2010}}{{page needed|date=November 2023}} The [[Chandogya Upanishad]] (3.17.4) includes ahimsa in its list of virtues.<ref name="VD">{{Cite book |last1=van Kooij |first1=K.R. |last2=Houben |first2=Jan E.M. |year=1999 |title=Violence denied: Violence, non-violence and the rationalization of violence in South Asian cultural history |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden, NL |pages=117, 123, 129, 164, 212, 269 |isbn=90-04-11344-4}}</ref>

John Bowker states the word appears but is uncommon in the principal Upanishads.<ref>{{cite book | last=Bowker | first=John | title=Problems of Suffering in Religions of the World | publisher=Cambridge University Press | date=10 April 1975 | isbn=978-0-521-09903-5 | page=233}}</ref> Kaneda gives examples of the word {{transliteration|sa|pashu-Ahimsa}} in these Upanishads.<ref name=kaneda2008>{{cite book | last=Kaneda|first=T.|chapter=Shanti, the peacefulness of mind| editor-last=Eppert | editor-first=Claudia | editor-last2=Wang | editor-first2=Hongyu | title=Cross-cultural Studies in Curriculum: Eastern thought, educational insights | publisher=Routledge | date=2008 | isbn=978-0-8058-5673-6 | pages=171–192}}</ref> Other scholars<ref name="arapura"/><ref name=Izawa /> suggest {{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} as an ethical concept started evolving in the Vedas, becoming an increasingly central concept in Upanishads.

The [[Chāndogya Upaniṣad]], dated to {{BCE|800 to 600}}, one of the oldest [[Upanishads]], has the earliest evidence for the [[Vedas|Vedic era]] use of the word {{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} in the sense familiar in Hinduism (a code of conduct). It bars violence against "all creatures" ({{transliteration|sa|sarvabhuta}}), and the practitioner of {{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} is said to escape from the cycle of [[Reincarnation|rebirths]] (CU 8.15.1).{{sfn|Tahtinen|1964|pp=2–5}}{{sfn|Schmidt|1968|p=631}} Some scholars state that this mention may have been an influence of Jainism on Vedic Hinduism.<ref>{{cite book |first1=M.K|last1=Sridhar|first2=Puruṣottama|last2=Bilimoria|editor-last=Bilimoria | editor-first=Purusottama | editor-last2=Prabhu | editor-first2=Joseph | editor-last3=Sharma | editor-first3=Renuka M. | title=Indian Ethics: Classical traditions and contemporary challenges | publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. | date=2007 | isbn=978-0-7546-3301-3|page=315}}</ref> Others scholar state that this relationship is speculative, and though Jainism is an ancient tradition the oldest traceable texts of Jainism tradition are from many centuries after the Vedic era ended.<ref>{{cite book|first=Jeffery D.|last=Long|title=Jainism: An Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JmRlAgAAQBAJ|year=2009|publisher=I. B. Tauris|isbn=978-1-84511-625-5|pages=31–33}}</ref>{{sfn|Dundas|2002|pp=22–24, 73–83}}

Chāndogya Upaniṣad also names {{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}}, along with {{transliteration|sa|Satyavacanam}} (truthfulness), {{transliteration|sa|Ārjavam}} (sincerity), {{transliteration|sa|[[Dāna]]m}} (charity), and {{transliteration|sa|[[Tapas (Indian religions)|Tapo]]}} (penance/meditation), as one of five essential virtues (CU 3.17.4).<ref name=arapura/><ref>Ravindra Kumar (2008), Non-violence and Its Philosophy, {{ISBN|978-81-7933-159-0}}, see pages 11–14</ref>

The Sandilya [[Upanishad]] lists ten forbearances: {{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}}, {{transliteration|sa|Satya}}, {{transliteration|sa|Asteya}}, {{transliteration|sa|Brahmacharya}}, {{transliteration|sa|Daya}}, {{transliteration|sa|Arjava}}, {{transliteration|sa|Kshama}}, {{transliteration|sa|Dhriti}}, {{transliteration|sa|Mitahara}}, and {{transliteration|sa|Saucha}}.<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite book|last=Swami|first=P.|year=2000|title=Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Upaniṣads|volume=3 (S–Z)|publisher=Sarup & Sons|pages= 630–631}}
|2={{cite book|last1=Ballantyne|first1=J.R.|last2=Yogīndra|first2=S.|year=1850|title=A Lecture on the Vedánta: Embracing the Text of the Vedánta-sára|publisher=Presbyterian mission press}}
}}</ref> According to Kaneda,<ref name=kaneda2008/> the term {{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} is an important spiritual doctrine shared by Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. It means 'non-injury' and 'non-killing'. It implies the total avoidance of harming any living creature by deeds, words, and thoughts.

===The Epics===
{{see also | Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah | Yato Dharmastato Jayah }}

The [[Mahabharata]], one of the epics of Hinduism, has multiple mentions of the phrase {{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa Paramo Dharma}} ({{lang|sa|अहिंसा परमॊ धर्मः}}), which literally means: non-violence is the highest moral virtue. For example, [[Anushasana Parva]] has the verse:<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/mbs/mbs13117.htm |title=Mahabharata 13.117.37–38 |access-date=7 August 2013 |archive-date=13 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013100312/http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/mbs/mbs13117.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
<blockquote><poem>{{lang|sa|अहिंसा परमो धर्मः तथाहिंसा परो दमः।
अहिंसा परमं दानम् अहिंसा परमस्तपः।
अहिंसा परमो यज्ञः तथाहिंसा परं बलम्।
अहिंसा परमं मित्रम् अहिंसा परमं सुखम्।
अहिंसा परमं सत्यम् अहिंसा परमं श्रुतम्॥}}
</poem></blockquote>
The above passage from Mahabharata emphasises the cardinal importance of {{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} in Hinduism, and literally means:
<blockquote><poem>
{{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} is the highest {{transliteration|sa|[[Dharma]]}}, {{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} is the highest self-control, 
{{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} is the greatest gift, {{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} is the best practice, 
{{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} is the highest sacrifice, {{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} is the finest strength, 
{{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} is the greatest friend, {{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} is the greatest happiness, 
{{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} is the highest truth, and {{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} is the greatest teaching.<ref name=CCEN>{{cite book|last=Chapple|first=Christopher|chapter=Ecological Nonviolence and the Hindu Tradition|series=Recent Research in Psychology|title=Perspectives on Nonviolence|year=1990|editor-first=V.K.|editor-last=Kool|pages=168–177|location=New York|publisher=Springer}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.hinduismtoday.com/magazine/january-february-march-2007/2007-01-what-is-hinduism-6/|chapter=Ahimsa: To Do No Harm|date=January 2007|author=Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami|title=What is Hinduism|pages=359–361}}</ref>
</poem></blockquote>
Some other examples where the phrase {{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa Paramo Dharma}} are discussed include [[Adi Parva]], [[Vana Parva]], and [[Anushasana Parva]]. The [[Bhagavad Gita]], among other things, discusses the doubts and questions about appropriate response when one faces systematic violence or war. These verses develop the concepts of lawful violence in self-defence and the [[Just war theory|theories of just war]]. However, there is no consensus on this interpretation. Gandhi, for example, considers this debate about non-violence and lawful violence as a mere metaphor for the internal war within each human being, when he or she faces moral questions.<ref name=fischer1954>{{cite book|last=Fischer|first=Louis|title=Gandhi: His Life and Message to the World|url=https://archive.org/details/gandhihislifemes00fisc|publisher=Mentor|location=New York|year=1954|page=[https://archive.org/details/gandhihislifemes00fisc/page/17/mode/1up 17]|isbn=978-0-451-62014-9 }}</ref>

===Self-defence, criminal law, and war===
The classical texts of Hinduism devote numerous chapters to discussing what people who practice the virtue of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} can and must do when faced with war, violent threat, or the need to sentence someone convicted of a crime. These discussions have led to theories of just war, ideas of reasonable self-defense, and views of proportionate punishment.<ref name=balkaran2012/><ref name=klos1996>{{cite book | last=Klostermaier | first=Klaus K. |author-link=Klaus K. Klostermaier| chapter=Himsa and Ahimsa Traditions in Hinduism|editor-last2=Brock | editor-first2=Peter | editor-last1=Dyck | editor-first1=Harvey Leonard | title=The Pacifist Impulse in Historical Perspective | publisher=University of Toronto Press | date=1996 | isbn=978-0-8020-0777-3 | pages=230–234}}</ref> [[Arthashastra]] discusses, among other things, what constitutes proportionate response and punishment.<ref name=robinson2003>{{cite book | last1=Robinson | first1=Paul F. | last2=Robinson | first2=Paul | title=Just War in Comparative Perspective | publisher=Routledge | date=2003 | isbn=0-7546-3587-2 | pages=114–125}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Coates|first=B.E.|year=2008|title=Modern India's Strategic Advantage to the United States: Her Twin Strengths in Himsa and Ahimsa |journal=Comparative Strategy|volume=27|number=2|pages=133–147|doi=10.1080/01495930801944669 |s2cid=153672869 }}</ref>

; War
The precepts of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} in Hinduism require that war must be avoided, with{{ambiguous|reason=unclear if this means that Hinduism, with S&TD, requires this; or if S&TD is the method for avoiding war; or if S&TD is the alternative to war|date=July 2023}} sincere and truthful dialogue. Force must be the last resort. If war becomes necessary, its cause must be just, its purpose virtuous, its objective to restrain the wicked, its aim peace, and its method lawful.<ref name=balkaran2012/><ref name=robinson2003/> War can only be started and stopped by a legitimate authority. Weapons must be proportionate to the opponent and the aim of war, not indiscriminate tools of destruction.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Subedi|first=S.P.|year=2003|title=The Concept in Hinduism of 'Just War'|journal=Journal of Conflict and Security Law|volume=8|number=2|pages=339–361|doi=10.1093/jcsl/8.2.339 }}</ref> All strategies and weapons used in the war must be to defeat the opponent, not to cause misery to the opponent; for example, the use of arrows is allowed, but the use of arrows smeared with painful poison is not allowed. Warriors must use judgment{{Specify|reason=what sort, in what way, to what end?|date=July 2023}} in the battlefield. Cruelty to the opponent during war is forbidden. Wounded, unarmed opponent warriors must not be attacked or killed; they must be brought to your realm and given medical treatment.<ref name=robinson2003/> Children, women, and civilians must not be injured. While the war is in progress, sincere dialogue for peace must continue.<ref name=balkaran2012/><ref name=klos1996/>

; Self-defence
Different interpretations of ancient Hindu texts have been offered in matters of self-defense. For example, Tähtinen suggests self-defense is appropriate, criminals are not protected by the rule of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}}, and Hindu scriptures support violence against an armed attacker.{{sfn|Tahtinen|1964|pp=96, 98–101}}<ref>Mahabharata 12.15.55; Manu Smriti 8.349–350; Matsya Purana 226.116.</ref> {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} is not meant to imply [[pacifism]].{{sfn|Tahtinen|1964|pp=91–93}}

Alternative theories of self-defense, inspired by {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}}, build principles similar to ideas of just war. [[Aikido]], pioneered in Japan, illustrates one such set of principles for self-defense. [[Morihei Ueshiba]], the founder of Aikido, described his inspiration as Ahimsa.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.sportspa.com.ba/images/dec2011/full/rad8.pdf |title=The Role of Teachers in Martial Arts; see page 48, 2nd column |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412060316/http://www.sportspa.com.ba/images/dec2011/full/rad8.pdf |archive-date=12 April 2019 |first=Nebojša|last=Vasic |year=2011 |journal=Sport SPA |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=47–51}}</ref> According to this interpretation of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} in self-defense, one must not assume that the world is free of aggression. One must presume that some people will, out of ignorance, error, or fear, attack others or intrude into their space, physically or verbally. The aim of self-defense, suggested Ueshiba, must be to neutralize the attacker's aggression and avoid conflict. The best defense is one with which the victim is protected and the attacker is respected and not injured if possible. Under {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} and [[Aikido]], there are no enemies, and appropriate self-defense focuses on neutralizing the immaturity, assumptions, and aggressive strivings of the attacker.<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite journal|first=Donald|last=Levine|title=Social Conflict, Aggression, and the Body in Euro-American and Asian Social Thought|url=http://aiki-extensions.org/pubs/conflict-body_text.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060116174614/http://www.aiki-extensions.org/pubs/conflict-body_text.pdf|archive-date=2006-01-16|year=2004|journal=International Journal of Group Tensions|volume=24|number=3|url-status=usurped|pages=205–217}}
|2={{cite book|last=Ueshiba|first=Kisshōmaru|year=2004|title=The Art of Aikido: Principles and Essential Techniques|publisher=Kodansha International|isbn=4-7700-2945-4}}
}}</ref>

; Criminal law
Tähtinen concludes that Hindus have no misgivings about the death penalty; their position is that evil-doers who deserve death should be killed and that a king, in particular, is obliged to punish criminals and should not hesitate to kill them, even if they happen to be his brothers and sons.{{sfn|Tahtinen|1964|pp=96, 98–99}}

Other scholars<ref name=klos1996/><ref name=robinson2003/> conclude that Hindu scriptures suggest that sentences for any crime must be fair, proportional, and not cruel.

===Non-human life===
[[File:ValluvarStatue SanctuaryAtTiruvallur.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|The 5th-century CE Tamil scholar [[Valluvar]], in his ''[[Tirukkural]]'', taught {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} and moral vegetarianism as personal virtues. The plaque in this statue of Valluvar at an animal sanctuary at [[Tiruvallur]] describes the Kural's teachings on {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} and [[non-killing]], summing them up with the definition of [[veganism]].]]
The Hindu precept of "cause no injury" applies to [[animal]]s and all life forms. This precept is not found in the oldest verses of Vedas ({{BCE|1500–1000}}), but increasingly becomes one of the central ideas in post-Vedic period.<ref name=chapple16>{{cite book | last=Chapple | first=Christopher Key | title=Nonviolence to Animals, Earth, and Self in Asian Traditions | publisher=State University of New York Press | date=1993 | isbn=0-7914-1498-1 | pages=16–17}}</ref>{{sfn|Brown|1964}} In the oldest layer of the Vedas, such as the ''Rigveda'', ritual sacrifices of animals and cooking of meat to feed guests are mentioned. This included goat, ox, horse, and others.{{sfn|Brown|1964|pp=246–247}} However, the text is not uniform in its prescriptions. Some verses praise meat as food, while other verses in the Vedas recommend "abstention from meat", in particular, "beef".{{sfn|Brown|1964|pp=246–247}}<ref>{{cite book | last=Rosen | first=Steven | title=Holy Cow: The Hare Krishna Contribution to Vegetarianism and Animal Rights | publisher=Lantern Books | date=2004 | isbn=1-59056-066-3 | pages=19–39}}</ref> According to Marvin Harris, the Vedic literature is inconsistent, with some verses suggesting ritual slaughter and meat consumption, while others suggesting a taboo on meat-eating.<ref>{{cite book |first=Marvin|last=Harris| editor-last=Whitten | editor-first=Phillip | editor-last2=Hunter | editor-first2=David E. | title=Anthropology: contemporary perspectives|edition=6th | publisher=Addison-Wesley Longman | date=1990 | isbn=0-673-52074-9 | pages=201–204 |url=http://academic.regis.edu/rlumpp/PDF%20files/RT%20201%20India%27s%20Sacred%20Cow.pdf|chapter= India's sacred cow|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329091317/http://academic.regis.edu/rlumpp/PDF |archive-date=29 March 2017 }}</ref>

Hindu texts dated to {{BCE|1st millennium}} initially mention meat as food, then evolve to suggest that only meat obtained through ritual sacrifice can be eaten, thereafter evolving to the stance that one should eat no meat because it hurts animals, with verses describing the noble life as one that lives on flowers, roots, and fruits alone.<ref name=chapple16/><ref>[[Baudhayana Dharmasutra]] 2.4.7; 2.6.2; 2.11.15; 2.12.8; 3.1.13; 3.3.6; [[Apastamba]] Dharmasutra 1.17.15; 1.17.19; 2.17.26–2.18.3; Vasistha Dharmasutra 14.12.</ref> The late Vedic-era literature ({{BCE|pre-500}}) condemns all killings of men, cattle, birds, and horses, and prays to god [[Agni]] to punish those who kill.<ref>{{citation |last=Krishna |first=Nanditha |title=Sacred Animals of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DF_af8_547EC&pg=PT107 |date=2010 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-81-8475-182-6 |pages=15, 33}}</ref>

Later texts of Hinduism declare {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} as one of the primary virtues, declare any killing or harming any life as against {{transliteration|sa|dharma}} (moral life). Finally, the discussion in the Upanishads and Hindu Epics<ref>Manu Smriti 5.30, 5.32, 5.39 and 5.44; Mahabharata 3.199 (3.207), 3.199.5 (3.207.5), 3.199.19–29 (3.207.19), 3.199.23–24 (3.207.23–24), 13.116.15–18, 14.28; Ramayana 1-2-8:19</ref> shifts to whether a human being can ever live his or her life without harming animal and plant life in some way, which and when plants or animal meat may be eaten, whether violence against animals causes human beings to become less compassionate, and if and how one may exert least harm to non-human life consistent with {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}}, given the constraints of life and human needs.<ref>Alsdorf pp. 592–593; Mahabharata 13.115.59–60, 13.116.15–18.</ref> The [[Mahabharata]] permits hunting by warriors, but opposes it in the case of hermits who must be strictly non-violent. [[Sushruta Samhita]], a Hindu text written in {{BCE|the 3rd or 4th century}}, in Chapter XLVI suggests proper diet as a means of treating certain illnesses, and recommends various fishes and meats for different ailments and for pregnant women,<ref>{{cite book |author=Kaviraj Kunja Lal Bhishagratna |year=1907|title=An English Translation of the Sushruta Samhita; see Chapter starting on page 469; for discussion on meats and fishes, see page 480 and onwards |volume=I.2 }}</ref><ref>Sutrasthana 46.89; Sharirasthana 3.25.</ref> and the [[Charaka Samhita]] describes meat as superior to all other kinds of food for convalescents.<ref>Sutrasthana 27.87.</ref>

Across the texts of Hinduism, there is a profusion of ideas about the virtue of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} when applied to non-human life, but without a universal consensus.<ref>Mahabharata 3.199.11–12 (3.199 is 3.207 elsewhere); 13.115; 13.116.26; 13.148.17; Bhagavata Purana (11.5.13–14), and the Chandogya Upanishad (8.15.1).</ref> Alsdorf claims the debate and disagreements between supporters of [[Vegetarianism|vegetarian]] lifestyle and meat eaters was significant. Even suggested exceptions – ritual slaughter and hunting – were challenged by advocates of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}}.{{sfn|Alsdorf|2010|pp=572–577 (for the Manusmṛti) and 585–597 (for the Mahabharata)}}{{sfn|Tahtinen|1976|pp=34–36}}<ref>The Mahabharata and the Manusmṛti (5.27–55) contain lengthy discussions about the legitimacy of ritual slaughter.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12b095.htm |url-status=live |title=Mahabharata 12.260—(12.260 is 12.268 according to another count) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070910073935/http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12b095.htm |archive-date=10 September 2007 }}; 13.115–116; 14.28.</ref> In the Mahabharata both sides present various arguments to substantiate their viewpoints. Moreover, a hunter defends his profession in a long discourse.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03207.htm |url-status=live |title=Mahabharata 3.199 —(3.199 is 3.207 according to another count) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929130620/http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03207.htm |archive-date=29 September 2007}}</ref>

Many of the arguments proposed in favor of non-violence to animals refer to the bliss one feels, the rewards it entails before or after death, the danger and harm it prevents, as well as to the karmic consequences of violence.{{sfn|Tahtinen|1964|pp=39–43}}{{sfn|Alsdorf|2010|pp=589–590}}{{sfn|Schmidt|1968|pp=634–635, 640–643}}

The ancient Hindu texts discuss {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} and non-animal life. They discourage wanton destruction of nature including of wild and cultivated plants. Hermits ([[sannyasa|sannyasins]]) were urged to live on a [[fruitarian]] diet so as to avoid the destruction of plants.{{sfn|Schmidt|1968|pp=637–639}}<ref>Manusmriti 10.63, 11.145</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Preece | first=Rod |author-link=Rod Preece| title=Animals and Nature: Cultural Myths, Cultural Realities | publisher=University of British Columbia Press | date=2005 | isbn=978-0-7748-0725-8 | pages=212–217}}</ref> Scholars{{r|CCEN}}<ref>{{cite journal | last=Horn | first=Gavin Van | title=Hindu Traditions and Nature: Survey Article | journal=Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture, and Ecology | publisher=Brill | volume=10 | issue=1 | year=2006 | jstor=43809321 | pages=5–39| doi=10.1163/156853506776114474 }}</ref> claim the principles of ecological nonviolence are innate in the Hindu tradition, and its conceptual fountain has been {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} as its cardinal virtue.

The classical literature of the Indian religions, such as Hinduism and Jainism, exists in many Indian languages. For example, the ''[[Tirukkural]],'' written in three volumes, likely between {{CE|450 and 500}}, dedicates verses 251–260 and 321–333 of its [[Aram (Kural book)|first volume]] to the virtue of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}}, emphasizing on [[moral vegetarianism]] and [[non-killing]] ({{transliteration|sa|kollamai}}).<ref>{{cite book|author=Kamil Zvelebil|title=The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=degUAAAAIAAJ|year=1973|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=90-04-03591-5|pages=156–157}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Krishna | first = Nanditha | title = Hinduism and Nature | publisher = Penguin Random House | series = | volume = | edition = | date = 2017 | location = New Delhi | page = 264 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=gp1IDwAAQBAJ&dq=ahimsa+and+Tirukkural&pg=PT131 | doi = | id = | isbn = 978-93-8732-654-5}}</ref> However, the ''Tirukkural'' also glorifies soldiers and their valour during war, and states that it is king's duty to punish criminals and implement "death sentence for the wicked".<ref name=Ananthanathan315>{{cite journal|title= Theory and Functions of the State The Concept of aṟam (virtue) in Tirukkural| author= A.K. Ananthanathan| journal= East and West| volume=44 | pages= 315–326| number= 2/4 |year=1994 |jstor= 29757156}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Paul Robinson|title=Just War in Comparative Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I2lBDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT169 |year=2017|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-351-92452-8|pages=169–170}}</ref>

In 1960, [[H. Jay Dinshah]] founded the [[American Vegan Society]] (AVS), linking veganism to the concept of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}}.<ref name=AVS50>{{Cite magazine|last=Dinshah|first=Freya|year=2010|title=American Vegan Society: 50 Years|url=http://www.americanvegan.org/AV1001.pdf|magazine=American Vegan|series=2|publisher=[[American Vegan Society]]|location=Vineland, NJ|volume=10|issue=1 (Summer 2010)|page=31|issn=1536-3767|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722213651/http://www.americanvegan.org/AV1001.pdf|archive-date=22 July 2011|access-date=14 March 2018}}</ref><ref>Stepaniak 2000, [https://books.google.com/books?id=6Ia5eZIlgLUC&pg=PA6 6–7]; Preece 2008, [https://books.google.com/books?id=uMnubkF5HjAC&pg=PA323 323].</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.americanvegan.org/history.htm|title=History|publisher=American Vegan Society|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140827105211/http://www.americanvegan.org/history.htm|archive-date=27 August 2014|access-date=14 March 2018}}</ref>

===Modern times===
[[File:Portrait Gandhi.jpg|thumb|[[Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi|Gandhi]] promoted the principle of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} by applying it to politics.]]
In the 19th and 20th centuries, prominent figures of Indian spirituality such as [[Shrimad Rajchandra]]<ref>{{cite book|author=Pyarelal|title=Mahatma Gandhi-the Early Phase|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8P0KAQAAIAAJ|year=1965|publisher=Navajivan Publishing House}}</ref> and [[Swami Vivekananda]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Religious Vegetarianism|editor-link1=Kerry S. Walters|editor-last1=Walters|editor-first1=Kerry S.|editor-first2=Lisa|editor-last2= Portmess|location=Albany|year=2001|pages=50–52}}</ref> emphasised the importance of Ahimsa.

[[Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi]] successfully promoted the principle of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} to all spheres of life, in particular to politics ({{transliteration|sa|[[Swaraj]]}}).{{sfn|Tahtinen|1964|pp=116–124}} His non-violent resistance movement {{transliteration|sa|[[satyagraha]]}} had an immense impact on India, impressed public opinion in Western countries, and influenced the leaders of various [[civil and political rights]] movements such as the American [[civil rights movement]]'s [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] and [[James Bevel]]. In Gandhi's thought, {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} precludes not only the act of inflicting a physical injury but also mental states like evil thoughts and hatred, and unkind behavior such as harsh words, dishonesty, and lying, all of which he saw as manifestations of violence incompatible with {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}}.<ref name="XXII-XLVII 1986, p. 11-12">{{harvnb|Walli|pp=XXII-XLVII}}; {{cite book|last=Borman |first= William|title=Gandhi and Nonviolence |location=Albany|year=1986|pages=11–12}}</ref> Gandhi believed {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} to be a creative energy force, encompassing all interactions leading one's self to find {{transliteration|sa|satya}}, "Divine Truth".<ref>{{citation|last=Jackson|pages=39–54|title=Religion East & West|year=2008}}</ref> [[Sri Aurobindo]] criticized the Gandhian concept of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} as unrealistic and not universally applicable, noting that while it is a spiritual truth, it should not be applied as a "rigid ethical rule" to all of humanity.<ref>Sri Aurobindo, ''Letters on Yoga — I'', p. 435; ''Letters on Himself and the Ashram'', p. 19.</ref> He adopted a pragmatic non-pacifist position, holding that the justification of violence depends on the specific circumstances and the "dharma" (duty/righteousness) of the situation.<ref>Sri Aurobindo, ''Bande Mataram'', p. 278; ''Letters on Yoga — I'', p. 436.</ref> While he advocated passive resistance as a political policy for India's independence, he maintained that a nation is entitled to use violence for its self-preservation if necessary.<ref>Sri Aurobindo, ''Autobiographical Notes'', pp. 48, 73.</ref>

Gandhi took the religious principle of ''ahimsa,'' and turned it into a non-violent tool for mass action. He used it to fight not only colonial rule, but social evils such as racial discrimination and untouchability as well.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC - Ethics - War: Non-violence |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/war/against/nonviolence.shtml#:~:text=Gandhi%20took%20the%20religious%20principle,discrimination%20and%20untouchability%20as%20well. |access-date=2024-07-18 |website=www.bbc.co.uk |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Gandhi stated his belief that "{{transliteration|sa|[a]himsa}} is in Hinduism, it is in Christianity as well as in Islam."<ref name=par/> He added, "Nonviolence is common to all religions, but it has found the highest expression and application in Hinduism (I do not regard Jainism or Buddhism as separate from Hinduism)."<ref name=par/> When questioned whether violence and nonviolence are taught in Quran, he stated, "I have heard from many Muslim friends that the Koran teaches the use of nonviolence. (...&nbsp;The) argument about nonviolence in the Holy Koran is an interpolation, not necessary for my thesis."<ref name=par>{{cite book|last=Gandhi|first=Mohandas K.|editor-last1=Prabhu|editor-first1=R.K.|editor-last2=Rao|editor-first2=U.R.|year=1966|url=http://gandhiashramsevagram.org/pdf-books/mind-of-mahatma-gandhi.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://gandhiashramsevagram.org/pdf-books/mind-of-mahatma-gandhi.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=The Mind of Mahatma Gandhi|publisher=Encyclopedia of Gandhi's Thoughts|pages=120–121}}</ref><ref name=mgarat>{{multiref2
|1={{cite book|last=Gandhi|first=Mohandas K.|year=1962|title=All Religions are True|publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan|page=128}}
|2={{cite book|last=Banshlal Ramnauth |first= Dev|year=1989|title=Mahatma Gandhi: Insight and Impact|publisher=Indira Gandhi Centre for Indian Culture & Mahatma Gandhi Institute|page=48}} }}</ref>

Studying {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}}'s history and philosophy influenced [[Albert Schweitzer]]'s principle of "reverence for life". He commended Indian traditions for their ethics of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}}, considering the prohibition against killing and harming "one of the greatest events in the spiritual history of humankind". However, he noted that "not-killing" and "not-harming" might be unfeasible in certain situations, like self-defense, or ethically complex, as in cases of prolonged famine.<ref>{{cite book|last=Schweitzer|first=Albert|url=https://archive.org/stream/indianthoughtsan027860mbp#page/n95/mode/2up|title=Indian Thought and its Development|location=London|year=1956|pages=82–83|publisher=The Beacon Press}}</ref>

===Yoga===
{{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} means "abstinence from malice towards all living creatures in every way and at all times".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mookerji |first=Radha Kumud |title=Ancient Indian education: brahmanical and Buddhist |date=1998 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0423-4 |edition=[5.] repr |location=Delhi |pages=313}}</ref> ''Ahimsa'' is imperative for practitioners of [[Patañjali]]'s eight limb [[Raja yoga]] system. It is included in the first limb and is the first of five {{transliteration|sa|[[Yamas]]}} (self restraints) which, together with the second limb, make up the code of ethical conduct in Yoga philosophy.<ref name="pyogas3t">Sanskrit Original with '''Translation 1''': {{cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/yogaphilosophyb00tatygoog#page/n6/mode/2up |title=The Yoga Philosophy, with Bhojaraja commentary |translator-first=Tookaram|translator-last=Tatya |publisher=The Theosophical Society's Publications |location=Bombay |year=1885}}
*'''Translation 2''': {{cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/yogadaranasutra00patagoog#page/n4/mode/2up |title=The Yoga-darsana: The sutras of Patanjali with the Bhasya of Vyasa, with notes |translator-first=Gangânâtha|translator-last=Jhâ |date=1907 |publisher=Bombay Theosophical Publication Fund}}
*'''Translation 3''': {{cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/yogasutrasofpata00pata#page/n5/mode/2up |title=The Yogasutras of Patanjali |translator-first=Charles|translator-last=Johnston |year=1912 |location=New York}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Lochtefeld | first=James G. | chapter=Yama (2)|title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism|volume=2 (N–Z) | publisher=Rosen Publishing Group | year=2002 | isbn=978-0-8239-3179-8 | page= 777}}</ref> Commentators on the [[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali|Yoga Sutras]] II.30 emphasize that ''ahimsa'' is the most important and foundational ''yama'' of the five ''yamas''. [[Vijnanabhiksu]] uses the analogy of an elephant to convey its importance, while [[Vyasa]] defines it as refraining from harming any living being at any time, emphasizing that all other ''yamas'' support and purify ''ahimsa''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bryant |first=Edwin F. |title=The Yoga sūtras of Patañjali: a new edition, translation and commentary with insights from the traditional commentators |date=2009 |publisher=North Point Press |isbn=978-0-86547-736-0 |location=New York |pages=243–248}}</ref>

{{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} is also one of the ten {{transliteration|sa|Yamas}} in [[Hatha Yoga]] according to verse 1.1.17 of its classic manual ''[[Hatha Yoga Pradipika]]''.<ref>Sanskrit: {{lang|sa|अथ यम-नियमाः '''अहिंसा''' सत्यमस्तेयं बरह्मछर्यं कष्हमा धॄतिः <nowiki>|</nowiki> दयार्जवं मिताहारः शौछं छैव यमा दश <nowiki>||</nowiki> १७ <nowiki>||</nowiki>}}<br />English Translation: {{cite book|chapter-url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/hyp/hyp03.htm |url-status=live|chapter=1. On Âsanas|at=1.1.17|title=Hatha Yoga Pradipika|translator-first=Pancham|translator-last=Sinh|year=1914|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100405092859/http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/hyp/hyp03.htm |archive-date=5 April 2010 }}</ref> The significance of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} as the first restraint in the first limb of Yoga ({{transliteration|sa|Yamas}}) is that it defines the necessary foundation for progress through Yoga. It is a precursor to {{transliteration|sa|Asana}}, implying that success in {{transliteration|sa|Yogasana}} can be had only if the self is purified in [[Manasa, vacha, karmana|thought, word, and deed]] through the self-restraint of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}}.

==Jainism==
{{Main|Ahimsa in Jainism}}
{{See also|Jain vegetarianism}}
[[File:Ahimsa_Jainism_Gradient.jpg|thumb|The hand with a wheel on the palm symbolises the Jain Vow of {{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}}. The word in the middle is {{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}}. The wheel represents the [[dharmacakra]] which stands for the resolve to halt the cycle of reincarnation through relentless pursuit of truth and non-violence.]]
In Jainism, the understanding and implementation of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} is more radical, scrupulous, and comprehensive than in any other religion.{{sfn|Laidlaw|1995|pp=154–160}}{{sfn|Jindal|1988|pp=74–90}}{{sfn|Tahtinen|1976|p=110}} Killing any living being out of passions like attachment is considered {{transliteration|sa|hiṃsā}} (to injure) and abstaining from such an act is {{transliteration|sa|ahimsā}} (noninjury).{{sfn|Jain|2012|p=34-36}} The vow of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsā}} is considered the foremost among the "five vows of Jainism". Other vows like truth ({{transliteration|sa|satya}}) are meant for safeguarding the vow of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsā}}.{{sfn|Jain|2012|p=33}}

The statement {{IAST|ahimsā paramo dharmaḥ}} (or, "Non-injury/nonviolence/harmlessness is the supreme/ultimate/paramount/highest/absolute duty/virtue/attribute/religion"{{refn|slashes are used here to present alternative denotations}}) is often found inscribed on the walls of the [[Jain temple]]s.{{sfnm|Dundas|2002|1p=160|Wiley|2006|2p=438|Laidlaw|1995|3pp=153–154}} As in Hinduism, the aim is to prevent the accumulation of harmful karma.{{sfn|Laidlaw|1995|pp=26–30, 191–195}}

===The Hierarchy of Life===
The Jain concept of ''ahimsa'' is characterised by detailed classifications of life. Jains categorize living beings (''jiva'') based on their sensory faculties (''indriyas''), ranging from one-sensed beings (plants, water, earth) to five-sensed beings (humans, animals).

Killing of animals for food is absolutely ruled out.{{sfn|Laidlaw|1995|pp=166–167}}{{sfn|Tahtinen|1976|p=37}} Jains also make considerable efforts not to injure plants in everyday life as far as possible. Though they admit that plants must be destroyed for the sake of food, they accept such violence only inasmuch as it is indispensable for human survival, and there are special instructions for preventing unnecessary violence against plants.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lodha|first=R.M.|chapter=Conservation of Vegetation and Jain Philosophy|title=Medieval Jainism: Culture and Environment|location=New Delhi|year=1990|pages=137–141}}</ref>{{sfn|Tahtinen|1964|p=105}} Jain monks and nuns go out of their way so as not to hurt even small insects and other minuscule animals.{{sfnm|Jindal|1988|1p=89|Laidlaw|1995|2pp=54, 154–155, 180}} Both the renouncers and the laypeople of Jain faith reject meat, fish, alcohol, and honey as these are believed to harm large or minuscule life forms.{{sfn|Laidlaw|1995|pp=166–167}}

===Ascetic vs. Householder Codes===
In the practice of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}}, the requirements are less strict for the lay persons ({{transliteration|sa|[[sravakas]]}}) who have undertaken {{transliteration|sa|anuvrata}} (Smaller Vows) than for the [[Jain monasticism|Jain monastics]] who are bound by the [[Mahavrata]] "Great Vows".{{sfnm|Dundas|2002|1pp=158–159, 189–192|Laidlaw|1995|2pp=173–175, 179}}<ref>''Religious Vegetarianism'', ed. [[Kerry S. Walters]] and Lisa Portmess, Albany 2001, p. 43–46 (translation of the First Great Vow).</ref>

Jain scholars have debated the potential injury to other life forms during one's occupation. Certain Jain texts (according to [[Padmanabh Jaini]], a Jainism scholar) forbid people of its faith from husbandry, agriculture, and trade in animal-derived products.<ref name="Sethia2004p51"/> Some Jains abstain from farming because it inevitably entails unintentional killing or injuring of many small animals, such as worms and insects.{{sfn|Laidlaw|1995|p=180}} These teachings, in part, have led the Jain community to focus on trade, merchant, clerical, and administrative occupations to minimize {{transliteration|sa|arambhaja-himsa}} (occupational violence against all life forms).<ref name="Sethia2004p51">{{cite book|author=Padmannabh Jaini|editor=Tara Sethia|title=Ahimsā, Anekānta, and Jaininsm|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QYdlKv8wBiYC |year=2004|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ|isbn= 978-81-208-2036-4|pages=51–53}}</ref> For the layperson, the teaching has been of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} with {{transliteration|sa|pramada}} – that is, reducing violence through proper intention and being careful in every action on a daily basis to minimize violence to all life forms.{{sfn|Dundas|2002|pp=161–162}}

===Intellectual Non-Violence===
When [[Mahavira]] revived and reorganised the Jain faith in {{BCE|the 6th or 5th century}},{{sfn|Dundas|2002|p=24}} {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} was already an established, strictly observed rule.<ref>{{cite book|last=Goyal|first=S.R.|title=A History of Indian Buddhism|publisher=Meerut|date=1987|pages=83–85}}</ref> [[Rishabhanatha]] (Ādinātha), the first Jain [[Tirthankara]], whom modern Western historians consider to be a historical figure, followed by [[Parshvanatha]] (Pārśvanātha){{sfn|Dundas|2002|pp=19, 30}}{{sfn|Tahtinen|1964|p=132}} the twenty-third [[Tirthankara]] lived in about {{BCE|the 9th century}}.{{sfn|Dundas|2002|p=30}} He founded the community to which Mahavira's parents belonged.<ref>[[Acaranga Sutra]] 2.15.</ref> Ahimsa was already part of the "Fourfold Restraint" (''Caujjama''), the vows taken by Parshva's followers.<ref>[[Sthananga Sutra]] 266</ref>{{sfn|Tahtinen|1976|p=132}}{{sfn|Goyal|1987|pp=83–84, 103}} In the times of Mahavira and in the following centuries, Jains were at odds with both Buddhists and followers of the Vedic religion or Hindus, whom they accused of negligence and inconsistency in the implementation of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}}.{{sfn|Dundas|2002|pp=160, 234, 241}}{{sfn|Wiley|2006|p=448}}{{sfn|Tahtinen|1976|pp=8–9}}<ref>{{cite journal|last=Granoff|first=Phyllis|title=The Violence of Non-Violence: A Study of Some Jain Responses to Non-Jain Religious Practices|journal=Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies|volume=15|year=1992|pages=1–43}}</ref> According to the Jain tradition either [[lacto vegetarianism]] or [[veganism]] is prescribed.{{sfn|Laidlaw|1995|p=169}}

===Just War and Self-Defense===
The Jain texts, unlike most Hindu and Buddhist texts on just war, have been inconsistent. For its monastic community – {{transliteration|sa|[[sadhu]]}} and {{transliteration|sa|[[sadhu|sadhvi]]}} – the historically accepted practice has been to "willingly sacrifice one's own life" to the attacker, to not retaliate, so that the mendicant may keep the First Great Vow of "total nonviolence".<ref name="Sethia2004p51"/> Jain literature of {{CE|the 10th century}}, for example, describes a king ready for war and being given lessons about non-violence by the Jain acharya (spiritual teacher).{{sfn|Laidlaw|1995|p=155}} In {{CE|the 12th century}} and thereafter, in an era of violent raids, destruction of temples, the slaughter of agrarian communities and ascetics by Islamic armies, Jain scholars reconsidered the First Great Vow of mendicants and its parallel for the laypeople. The medieval texts of this era, such as by Jinadatta Suri, recommended both the mendicants and the laypeople to fight and kill if that would prevent greater and continued violence on humans and other life forms ({{transliteration|sa|virodhi-himsa}}).{{sfn|Dundas|2002|pp=162–163}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Padmannabh Jaini|editor=Tara Sethia|title=Ahimsā, Anekānta, and Jaininsm|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QYdlKv8wBiYC |year=2004|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ|isbn= 978-81-208-2036-4|pages=52–54}}</ref> Such exemptions to {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} is a relatively rare teaching in Jain texts, states Dundas.{{sfn|Dundas|2002|pp=162–163}}

===Modern Reception===
[[Mahatma Gandhi]] stated, "No religion in the World has explained the principle of {{transliteration|sa|Ahiṃsā}} so deeply and systematically as is discussed with its applicability in every human life in Jainism. As and when the benevolent principle of {{transliteration|sa|Ahiṃsā}} or non-violence will be ascribed for practice by the people of the world to achieve their end of life in this world and beyond, Jainism is sure to have the uppermost status and Mahāvīra is sure to be respected as the greatest authority on {{transliteration|sa|Ahiṃsā}}".<ref>{{cite book|last=Pandey|first=Janardan|title=Gandhi and 21st Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lmJnWrjnfjMC&pg=PA50|year=1998|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-7022-672-7|page=50}}</ref>

==Buddhism==
[[File:Spirit Peace Walk 03.jpg|alt=Buddhist monk peace walk|thumb|Buddhist monk peace walk]]<!--"Buddhist devotion#Chanting" is linking here.-->
{{further|Noble Eightfold Path|Buddhist ethics#Killing, causing others to kill|Buddhism and violence|Engaged Buddhism}}
In Buddhist texts {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} (or its [[Pāli]] cognate {{transliteration|pi|avihiṃsā}}) is part of the [[Five Precepts]] ({{IAST|Pañcasīla}}), the first of which has been to abstain from killing. This precept of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} is applicable to both the Buddhist [[Householder (Buddhism)|layperson]] and the [[Buddhist monasticism|monastic]] community.<ref name="Williams2005p398">{{cite book |author=Paul Williams |title=Buddhism: Critical Concepts in Religious Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pgrZnmKUKtgC |year=2005 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-33226-2 |page=398 |access-date=29 October 2016 |archive-date=11 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111060834/https://books.google.com/books?id=pgrZnmKUKtgC |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite book|author=Bodhi Bhikkhu|title=Great Disciples of the Buddha: Their Lives, Their Works, Their Legacy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=teUGAAAAYAAJ |year=1997|publisher=Wisdom Publications|isbn=978-0-86171-128-4 |pages=387 with footnote 12}};
|2=Sarao, p. 49
|3=Goyal p. 143
}}</ref>{{sfn|Tahtinen|1976|p=37}}{{sfn|Lamotte|1988|pp=54–55}}

The {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} precept is not a commandment, and transgressions did not {{clarify|text=invite religious sanctions|date=July 2023}} for laypersons, but their{{ambiguous|date=July 2023}} power has been in the Buddhist belief in karmic consequences and their impact in afterlife during rebirth.{{sfn|McFarlane |2001|p=187}} Killing, in Buddhist belief, could lead to rebirth in the hellish realm, and for a longer time in more severe conditions if the murder victim was a monk.{{sfn|McFarlane |2001|p=187}} Saving animals from slaughter for meat is believed to be a way to acquire merit for better rebirth. These moral precepts have been voluntarily self-enforced in lay Buddhist culture through the associated belief in karma and rebirth.{{sfn|McFarlane |2001|pp=187–191}} Buddhist texts not only recommend {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}}, but suggest avoiding trading goods that contribute to or are a result of violence:

{{Blockquote|
These five trades, O monks, should not be taken up by a lay follower: trading with weapons, trading in living beings, trading in meat, trading in intoxicants, trading in poisons.
|Anguttara Nikaya V.177|Translated by Martine Batchelor<ref>{{cite book|author=Martine Batchelor|title=The Spirit of the Buddha|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fL3mykqlOJcC&pg=PT59|year=2014|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-17500-4|page=59|access-date=29 October 2016|archive-date=11 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111055838/https://books.google.com/books?id=fL3mykqlOJcC&pg=PT59|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

Unlike with lay Buddhists, transgressions by monks do invite sanctions.{{sfn|McFarlane |2001|p=192}} Full expulsion of a monk from {{transliteration|sa|[[Sangha (Buddhism)|sangha]]}} follows instances of killing, just like any other serious offense against the monastic {{transliteration|pi|nikaya}} code of conduct.{{sfn|McFarlane |2001|p=192}}

===War===
Violent ways of punishing criminals and prisoners of war were not explicitly condemned in Buddhism,{{sfn|Sarao|1989|p=53}}{{sfn|Tahtinen|1976|pp=95, 102}} but peaceful ways of conflict resolution and punishment with the least amount of injury were encouraged.{{sfn|Tahtinen|1976|pp=95, 102–103}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Raaflaub|first=Kurt A.|title=War and Peace in the Ancient World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FMxgef2VJEwC&pg=PA61|date=2006-12-18|publisher=Wiley|isbn=978-1-4051-4525-1|page=61}}</ref> The early texts condemn the mental states that lead to violent behavior.{{sfn|Bartholomeusz|2005|p=52}}

Nonviolence is an overarching theme within the [[Pāli Canon]].{{sfn|Bartholomeusz|2005|p=111}} While the early texts condemn killing in the strongest terms, and portray the ideal ruler as a pacifist, such a ruler is nonetheless flanked by an army.{{sfn|Bartholomeusz|2005|p=41}} It seems that the Buddha's teaching on nonviolence was not interpreted or put into practice in an uncompromisingly pacifist or anti-military service way by early Buddhists.{{sfn|Bartholomeusz|2005|p=41}} The early texts assume war to be a fact of life, and well-skilled soldiers are viewed as necessary for defensive warfare.{{sfn|Bartholomeusz|2005|p=50}} In Pali texts, injunctions to abstain from violence and involvement with military affairs are directed at members of the {{transliteration|sa|sangha}}; later [[Mahayana]] texts, which often generalise monastic norms to laity, require this of lay people as well.{{sfn|McFarlane|2001|pp=195–196}}

The early texts do not contain just-war ideology as such.{{sfn|Bartholomeusz|2005|p=40}} Some argue that a {{transliteration|pi|[[suttas|sutta]]}} in the ''Gamani Samyuttam'' rules out all military service. In this passage, a soldier asks [[the Buddha]] if it is true that, as he has been told, soldiers slain in battle are reborn in a heavenly realm. The Buddha reluctantly replies that if he is killed in battle while his mind is seized with the intention to kill, he will undergo an unpleasant rebirth.<ref>{{harvnb|Bartholomeusz|2005|pp=125–126}}. Full texts of the sutta: {{cite web|url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn42/sn42.003.than.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090609110531/http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn42/sn42.003.than.html |archive-date=9 June 2009|translator=Thanissaro Bhikkhu|year=1998|title=Yodhajiva Sutta: To Yodhajiva (The Warrior) }}.</ref> In the early texts, a person's mental state at the time of death is generally viewed as having a great impact on the next birth.<ref>{{cite book|first=Rune E.A.|last=Johansson|title=The Dynamic Psychology of Early Buddhism|publisher=Curzon Press|year=1979|page=33}}</ref>

Some Buddhists point to other early texts as justifying defensive war.<ref>{{harvnb|Bartholomeusz|2005|pp=40–53}}. Some examples are the ''Cakkavati Sihanada Sutta'', the ''Kosala Samyutta'', the ''Ratthapala Sutta'', and the ''Sinha Sutta''. See also page 125. See also Trevor Ling, ''Buddhism, Imperialism, and War.'' George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1979, pages 136–137.</ref> One example is the ''Kosala Samyutta'', in which King [[Pasenadi]] of [[Kosala]], a righteous king favored by the Buddha, learns of an impending attack on his kingdom. He arms himself in defence, and leads his army into battle to protect his kingdom from attack. He lost this battle but won the war. King Pasenadi eventually defeated Emperor [[Ajatashatru|Ajātasattu]] and captured him alive. He thought that, although this [[List of monarchs of Magadha|King of Magadha]] has transgressed against his kingdom, he had not transgressed against him personally, and Ajātasattu was still his nephew. He released Ajātasattu and did not harm him.<ref>{{cite book|translator=Bhikkhu Bodhi|year=2000|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HJCvh8aWI_wC|title=The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya|location=Boston|publisher=Wisdom Publications|isbn=0-86171-331-1|page=177}}</ref> Upon his return, the Buddha said (among other things) that Pasenadi "is a friend of virtue, acquainted with virtue, intimate with virtue", while the opposite is said of the aggressor, King Ajātasattu.{{sfn|Bartholomeusz|2005|pp=49, 52–53}}

According to [[Theravada]] commentaries, there are five requisite factors that must all be fulfilled for an act to be both an act of killing and to be karmically negative. These are: (1) the presence of a living being, human or animal; (2) the knowledge that the being is a living being; (3) the intent to kill; (4) the act of killing by some means; and (5) the resulting death.<ref>{{cite book|author=Hammalawa Saddhatissa|title=Buddhist Ethics|publisher=Wisdom Publications|date=1997|pages=60, 159}}, see also {{harvnb|Bartholomeusz|2005|p=121}}.</ref> Some Buddhists have argued on this basis that the act of killing is complicated, and its ethicality is predicated upon intent.{{sfn|Bartholomeusz|2005|p=121}} Some have argued that in defensive postures, for example, the primary intention of a soldier is not to kill, but to defend against aggression, and the act of killing in that situation would have minimal negative karmic repercussions.{{sfn|Bartholomeusz|2005|pp=44, 121–122, 124}}

According to [[Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar|Babasaheb Ambedkar]], there is circumstantial evidence encouraging {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} from the Buddha's doctrine, "Love all, so that you may not wish to kill any." Gautama Buddha distinguished between a principle and a rule. He did not make {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} a matter of rule, but suggested it as a matter of principle. This gives Buddhists freedom to act.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00ambedkar/ambedkar_buddha/04_02.html#03_02|title=The Buddha and His Dhamma|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222081349/http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00ambedkar/ambedkar_buddha/04_02.html#03_02 |archive-date=22 February 2020 |access-date=2011-06-15}}</ref>

===Laws===
[[List of Maurya emperors|Maurya Emperor]] [[Ashoka]] banned animal sacrifice, hunting, slaughter of "all four-footed creatures that are neither useful nor edible" and specific animal species, female goats, sheep and pigs nursing their young as well as their young up to the age of six months. Fishing was banned during [[Chaturmasya]] and [[Uposatha]].{{sfn|Fitzgerald|2004|p=120}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Simoons |first=Frederick J. |date=1994 |title=Eat Not This Flesh: Food Avoidances from Prehistory to the Present |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JwGZTQunH00C&pg=PA108 |edition=2nd |location=Madison |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |page=108 |isbn=978-0-299-14254-4 |access-date=13 February 2016 |archive-date=14 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214171640/https://books.google.com/books?id=JwGZTQunH00C&pg=PA108 |url-status=live}}.</ref> Slave trade in the [[Maurya Empire]] was also banned by Ashoka.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lse.ac.uk/Economic-History/Assets/Documents/Research/GEHN/GEHNConferences/conf10/Conf10-ClarenceSmith.pdf |title=Conf10-ClarenceSmith |website=www.lse.ac.uk/}}</ref>

The emperors of the [[Sui dynasty]], [[Tang dynasty]], and early [[Song dynasty]] banned killing in the Lunar calendar's [[Chinese New Year|1st]], 5th, and 9th months.<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite web|url=http://www.bya.org.hk/life/hokfu/new_page_3.htm#34|url-status=live|title=卷糺 佛教的慈悲觀|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090908061659/http://www.bya.org.hk/life/hokfu/new_page_3.htm#34 |archive-date=8 September 2009 |access-date=2011-06-15}}
|2={{Cite web|url=https://www.drnh.gov.tw/var/file/3/1003/img/10/879650656.pdf |url-status=live|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.drnh.gov.tw/var/file/3/1003/img/10/879650656.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |title=試探《護生畫集》的護生觀 高明芳}}
}}</ref> [[Wu Zetian|Empress Wu Tse-Tien]] banned killing for more than half a year in 692.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-AN/an2414.htm|url-status=live|title=「護生」精神的實踐舉隅]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628222345/http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-AN/an2414.htm |archive-date=28 June 2011|access-date=2011-06-15}}</ref> Some rulers banned fishing for a period of time each year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cclw.net/gospel/asking/dmz10w/htm/02.htm|title= 答妙贞十问|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203141238/http://cclw.net/gospel/asking/dmz10w/htm/02.htm |archive-date=3 December 2008 |access-date=2011-06-15}}</ref>

There were also bans after the death of emperors,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bya.org.hk/life/Q&A_2006/Q&A_bya/128_Q.htm|title=第一二八期 佛法自由談|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225211331/http://www.bya.org.hk/life/Q%26A_2006/Q%26A_bya/128_Q.htm |archive-date=25 February 2021|access-date=2011-06-15}}</ref> after Buddhist and Taoist prayers,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfnn.org/book/books2/1187.htm|url-status=live|title=虛雲和尚法彙—書問|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724031215/http://www.bfnn.org/book/books2/1187.htm |archive-date=24 July 2011 |access-date=2011-06-15}}</ref> and after natural disasters such as Shanghai's 1926 summer drought, as well as an eight-day ban beginning August 12, 1959, after the August 7 flood ({{lang-zh|c=[[:zh:八七水災|八七水災]]|p=Bāqī shuǐzāi}}), the last big flood before [[the 88 Taiwan Flood]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.plela.org/Cmapwork/link/crona1.htm|title=道安長老年譜|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727180504/http://www.plela.org/Cmapwork/link/crona1.htm |archive-date=27 July 2011|access-date=2011-06-15}}</ref>

People avoid killing during some festivals, like the Taoist [[Ghost Festival]], the [[Nine Emperor Gods Festival]], and the [[Vegetarian Festival]], as well as during others.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mxzxw.cn/zwhgz/wszl_16_23.htm|title=明溪县"禁屠日"习俗的由来}} {{dead link|date=August 2019|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chinesefolklore.org.cn/web/index.php?Page=2&NewsID=3016|url-status=live|title=建构的节日：政策过程视角下的唐玄宗诞节|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707050614/http://www.chinesefolklore.org.cn/web/index.php?Page=2&NewsID=3016 |archive-date=7 July 2011 |access-date=2011-06-15}}</ref>
{{clear}}

==See also==
{{col div|colwidth=35em}}
*{{annotated link|[[Anekantavada]]}}
*{{annotated link|[[Animal rights]]}}
*{{annotated link|[[Civil resistance]]}}
*{{annotated link|[[Consistent life ethic]]}}
*{{annotated link|[[Eight precepts]]}}
*{{annotated link|[[Ethics]]}}
*{{annotated link|[[Five precepts]]}}
*{{annotated link|[[Gandhism]]}}
*{{annotated link|[[Golden Rule]]}}
*{{annotated link|[[History of vegetarianism]]}}
*{{annotated link|[[Human rights]]}}
*{{annotated link|[[Karuṇā]]}}
*{{annotated link|[[Non-aggression Principle]]}}
*{{annotated link|[[Nonkilling]]}}
*{{annotated link|[[Nonresistance]]}}
*{{annotated link|[[Nonviolence]]}}
*{{annotated link|[[Pacifism]]}}
*{{annotated link|[[Satyagraha]]}}
*{{annotated link|[[Veganism]]}}
*{{annotated link|[[Vegetarianism and religion]]}}
*{{annotated link|[[Yamas]]}}
{{colend}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}
==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{citation |last=Alsdorf |first=Ludwig |title=The History of Vegetarianism and Cow-Veneration in India |year=2010 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0415548243 |translator-last=Patil |translator-first=Bal }}
* {{citation |last1=Bartholomeusz |first1=Tessa J. |title=In Defense of Dharma: Just-War Ideology in Buddhist Sri Lanka |date=26 July 2005 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-78857-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZdKPAgAAQBAJ |language=en }}
* {{citation |last=Bronkhorst |first=Johannes |title=Greater Magadha: Studies in the Culture of Early India |year=2007 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-15719-4 }}
* {{citation |last=Brown |first=W. Norman |title=The sanctity of the cow in Hinduism |date=February 1964 |url=http://www.epw.in/system/files/pdf/1964_16/5-6-7/the_sanctity_of_the_cow_in_hinduism.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930225053/https://www.epw.in/system/files/pdf/1964_16/5-6-7/the_sanctity_of_the_cow_in_hinduism.pdf |archive-date=30 September 2020 |journal=The Economic Weekly |pages=245–255 }}
* {{citation |last=Deshmukh |first=P.R. |title=Indus Civilisation, Rigveda and Hindu Culture |year=1982 |publisher=Nagpur }}
* {{citation |last=Dundas |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Dundas |title=The Jains |url={{Google books|X8iAAgAAQBAJ|plainurl=yes}} |edition=Second |year=2002 |orig-date=1992 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-26605-5 }}
* {{citation |editor-last=Fitzgerald |editor-first=James L. |editor-link=James L. Fitzgerald |title=The Mahabharata |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p9SzCuLIlQ0C |publisher=[[The University of Chicago Press]] |year=2004 |volume=7 |isbn=0-226-25250-7 }}
* {{citation |last=Hume |first=Robert Ernest |title=The Thirteen Principal Upanishads |year=1921 |publisher=Oxford University Press }}
* {{citation | last=Jindal | first=K. B. | title=An Epitome of Jainism | publisher=South Asia Books | date=1988 | isbn=81-215-0058-3}}
* {{citation | last=Laidlaw | first=James | author-link=James Laidlaw (anthropologist)|title=Riches and Renunciation: Religion, economy, and society among the Jains | publisher=Oxford University Press, USA | date=1995 | isbn=0-19-828031-9}}
* {{citation | last=Lamotte | first=Etienne | title=History of Indian Buddhism from the Origins to the Śaka Era | publisher=Peeters | date=1988 | isbn=90-6831-100-X}}
* {{citation |last=McFarlane|first=Stewart|editor=Peter Harvey|title=Buddhism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oZCvAwAAQBAJ|year=2001|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-4411-4726-4}}
* {{citation |title=Mahatma Gandhi|website=Manas: History and Politics|url=https://southasia.ucla.edu/history-politics/gandhi/}}
* {{citation |last=O'Sullivan |first=Trish |year=2014 |title=Ahimsa |editor-last=Leeming |editor-first=David A. |editor-link=David Adams Leeming |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion |pages=31–32 |edition=2nd |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]] |location=[[Boston]] |doi=10.1007/978-1-4614-6086-2_16 |isbn=978-1-4614-6087-9|s2cid=242659739 }}
* {{citation |last=Sangave |first=Vilas Adinath |author-link=Vilas Adinath Sangave |title=Jain Community: A Social Survey |url={{Google books|FWdWrRGV_t8C|plainurl=yes}} |date=1980 |publisher=[[Popular Prakashan]] |location=Bombay |edition=2nd |isbn=978-0-317-12346-3 }}
* {{citation |last=Sarao|first=Karam Tej S.|title=The Origin and Nature of Ancient Indian Buddhism|location=New Delhi|publisher=Eastern Book Linkers|year=1989}}
* {{citation |last=Schmidt|first=Hanns Peter|chapter=The Origin of Ahimsa|title=Mélanges d'Indianisme à la mémoire de Louis Renou|location=Paris|publisher=Boccard|year=1968}}
* {{citation |last=Sethia |first=Tara |title=Ahiṃsā, Anekānta and Jainism |url={{Google books|QYdlKv8wBiYC|plainurl=yes}} |date=2004 |publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |isbn=978-81-208-2036-4 }}
* {{citation | last=Tähtinen | first=Unto | title=Non-violence as an ethical principle: with particular reference to the views of Mahatma Gandhi | publisher=Turun Yliopisto | publication-place=Turku | year=1964 | oclc=4288274 |ref={{sfnref|Tahtinen|1964}} }}
* {{citation |last1=Tähtinen |first1=Unto |title=Ahiṃsā: non-violence in Indian tradition |date=1976 |publisher=Rider |location=London |isbn=0-09-123340-2 |ref={{sfnref|Tahtinen|1976}} }}
* {{citation |last=Talageri |first=Shrikant |title=The Rigveda: A Historical Analysis |publisher=AdityaPrakashan |year=2000 |isbn=81-7742-010-0 |location=India |language=en}}
* {{citation |last=Talageri |title=Rigveda and the Avesta: The Final Evidence |year=2010 |location=India |language=en}}
* {{citation |last=Thapar |first=Romila |title=Aśoka and the Decline of the Mauryas |year=1961 |publisher=Oxford University Press }}
* {{citation |last=Wiley |first=Kristi L. |chapter=Ahimsa and Compassion in Jainism |title=Studies in Jaina History and Culture |editor=Peter Flügel |location=London |year=2006}}
* {{citation |last=Winternitz|first=Moriz|author-link=Moriz Winternitz|title=History of Indian Literature: Buddhist & Jain Literature|url={{Google books|Lgz1eMhu0JsC|plainurl=yes}}|year=1993|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-0265-0}}
'''Attribution:'''
* {{source attribution|1={{cite book |last=Jain |first=Vijay K. |title=Acharya Amritchandra's Purushartha Siddhyupaya: Realization of the Pure Self, With Hindi and English Translation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4iyUu4Fc2-YC |year=2012 |publisher=Vikalp Printers |isbn=978-81-903639-4-5 |access-date=28 June 2016 |archive-date=16 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216095825/https://books.google.com/books?id=4iyUu4Fc2-YC |url-status=live }}}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{commons category}}
* {{cite web | title=Sanskrit: Ahimsa quotations from Puranic scripture| website=vedabase.net | date=2007-02-25 | url=http://vedabase.net/a/ahimsa | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070225222717/http://vedabase.net/a/ahimsa | archive-date=2007-02-25 | access-date=2019-08-25}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.cpp.edu/~ahimsacenter/ahimsa_programs.shtml|title=AHIMSA Center|website=Cal Poly Pomona|access-date=23 December 2015|archive-date=24 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151224052843/http://www.cpp.edu/~ahimsacenter/ahimsa_programs.shtml}} Series of Lectures on Ahimsa

{{Indian Philosophy}}
{{Animal rights}}
{{anti-war}}
{{Gandhi}}
{{Vegetarianism}}
{{Virtues}}

[[Category:Buddhist ethics]]
[[Category:Concepts in ethics]]
[[Category:Hindu ethics]]
[[Category:Hindu philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Jain ethics]]
[[Category:Jain philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Pacifism]]
[[Category:Sanskrit words and phrases]]
[[Category:Wholesome factors in Buddhism]]