Can jain be in polygamy
Short answer: No. In Jainism, polygamy is not part of the dharma for a household.
- For layJains (upāsakas and upāsikās), marriage is expected to be between one man and one woman, with fidelity and mutual ethical duties emphasized.
- For Jain monks and nuns, celibacy is essential; they renounce worldly families and sexual relations altogether.
- The core Jain principles of ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truth), and aparigraha (non-possessiveness) support monogamous, faithful households and the renunciationist path of monks.
Different Jain traditions (Digambar vs. Shwetambar) uphold these norms consistently in practice, though there may be historical or cultural variations in how marriage is discussed in non-ascetic communities. If you’d like, I can summarize key points from canonical Jain texts that address marriage and celibacy.