Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jain Canons, with Commentaries: An Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey c7.s6.t6.1

c7.s6.t6.1

There were regular prisons in those days,⁶⁵ although we do not know what kinds of offenders were imprisoned and for what period. But it seems that the general conditions of the prison were not good. The prisoners were severely tortured in the prison and frequently they died. The Vivāgasuya gives a vivid description of a well-equipped prison in Sihapura. Dujjohana was the jailor who provided jails with various kinds of instruments of torture. There were a number of iron-jars filled with copper, tin, lead, lime-water (kalakala) and oil cooked with alkaline ingredients (khāratella) always kept on fire. There were jars containing urine of various animals; handcuffs (hatthaṃduya), fetters (pāyaṃduya), wooden frames to fasten the feet (haḍi), and iron chains; various kinds of whips, stones, sticks, clubs, ropes, traps, swords, saws, razors, iron-nails, leather-straps, needles, hatchets, nail-cutters, and darbha grass. The criminals were made to lie on their backs, their mouths were opened by means of an iron-staff, a red-hot copper etc. and the urine was poured into their mouth; they were tortured by various instruments.⁶⁶ The plight of the prisoners was miserable. They suffered from hunger, thirst, heat, cold, cough and leprosy. Their nails, hair, beard and moustaches were allowed to grow unattended; they lay in their own excrement and urine and died in prisons only. They were dragged by the feet and were thrown away in ditches where they were devoured by wolves, dogs, jackals, big rats (kola), cats, and birds.⁶⁷