What is sallekhana?
Sallekhana (also spelled salekhana or santhara) is a special Jain vow in which a person voluntarily prepares for death by gradually reducing food and water, while staying in complete peace, awareness, and detachment.
In simple words:
“Sallekhana” means
proper thinning of:
- the
body (kāya) and
- the
passions (kashāyas – anger, pride, deceit, greed).
The main aim is to reduce attachment, hatred, fear, and desires, and to remember the soul’s true nature at the last moment.
- A
spiritual vow, taken calmly and publicly.
- Usually done when:
- life is naturally near its end (old age, incurable disease), or
- further living would mean only suffering and more violence (himsa) through the body.
- The person:
- slowly reduces intake (not sudden stopping),
- spends time in prarthana, samayik, pratikraman, jap, svadhyaya,
- asks forgiveness from all, and stays in equanimity (samatā).
- Not considered suicide in Jain Dharma:
- Suicide is done out of despair, anger, fear, or attachment to an idea.
- Sallekhana must be without passions – no desire to die quickly, no hatred of life, only acceptance of nature and focus on the soul.
- No poison, weapons, or sudden violent means are allowed.
- Both
monks/nuns and
householders may take sallekhana,
- Always under guidance of an experienced guru / Jain elder,
- Only in
rare and right conditions, not as a solution to normal problems.
- Digambar / Shvetambar view:
- Both traditions
accept the principle of sallekhana as a high spiritual vow.
- There may be
differences in procedure and emphasis (how it is done step‑by‑step, specific rituals, wording of vows),
but the core idea is the same: a
peaceful, voluntary, dharmic end, with complete detachment and remembrance of the soul.
In essence, sallekhana is seen as:
- the final act of renunciation,
- a way to avoid new karma at death,
- and to die in samyak darshan–samyak jnān–samyak charitra as far as possible.
You can read a bit more in simple language here
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