Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jain Canons, with Commentaries: An Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey c15.s4.16

c15.s4.16

Among the various causes of death the following are mentioned: swallowing the tālapuṭa poison, brandishing the sword on one’s shoulders, hanging on a tree, fastening one’s neck with a slab of stone and throwing oneself into the sea, and entering into fire.¹⁹⁴ Among other kinds of suicides mention is made of falling down from a mountain¹⁹⁵ (giripaḍiyaga), falling down from a tree, committing suicide in a desert, swinging from a mountain (giripakkhandolaya), jumping into a desert, entering into water (jalapavesika), swallowing poison,¹⁹⁶ committing suicide with a weapon (satthovāḍitaka) or by hanging (vehānasia). Then sallekhanā or voluntary submission to death was another custom in vogue among the Jain monks who ended their life for attaining higher world by withholding from food and drink.¹⁹⁷