History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.t2.941

v4.c63.t2.941

This is analogous to No. 13 above. Atri did not condemn suicide in certain cases. He states,¹⁸⁶⁸ (verses 218-219) 'if one be old (beyond 70), if one cannot observe the rules of bodily purification (owing to extreme weakness), if one is so ill that all medical help is discarded, and if one in these circumstances kills himself by throwing himself from a precipice or into fire or water or by fasting, mourning should be observed for him for three days and śrāddha may be performed for him.' Aparārka (p. 536) quotes several smṛtis to the effect that a very old man or one suffering from very serious illness, one who has no desires left and has carried out his tasks may bring about his death by entering fire or water or falling from a precipice and he will incur no sin. Vide H. of Dh. vol. II. pp. 926–927 for further details. This text may also be taken as forbidding suicide by falling from a precipice or into fire as an expiation in the case of those that are guilty of mahāpātakas knowingly committed. The Mit. on Yāj. III. 226 quotes a smṛti to this effect¹⁸⁶⁹. The Śuddhitattva holds (pp. 284–285) that suicide by entering water and the like is allowed in Kali only to śūdras and forbidden to brāhmaṇas and others.