In Jain dharma, killing a panchendriya jīva like a cow is karmically far heavier than harming root vegetables / ekendriya jīvas. Root vegetables still involve himsā, so they are avoided by many Jains, but the violence done to a five-sensed being is much more severe because it deprives a more developed, more highly endowed living being of life. This follows from the Jain classification of beings by senses and the definition of हिंसा as depriving a being of prāṇa. ( jainqq.org)

1) Main scriptural basis

(A) Ācārāṅga Sūtra 1.2.3

Prakrit text: `savve pāṇā piyāuyā, suhasāyā dukkhapaḍikūlā, appiyavahā piyajīviṇo, jīviyukāmā savvesiṃ jīviyaṃ piyaṃ`

Meaning in Gujarati: “બધા પ્રાણીઓ પોતાનું આયુષ્ય પ્રિય માને છે, સુખ ઇચ્છે છે, દુઃખને નાપસંદ કરે છે, મારી નાખવામાં આવવું તેમને અપ્રિય છે, તેઓ જીવવા ઇચ્છે છે, અને સૌને પોતાનું જીવન પ્રિય છે.” ( jainqq.org)

How this applies: A cow is a five-sensed living being, so killing it is direct and grave himsā against a being that clearly desires life. ( jainqq.org)

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(B) Tattvārtha Sūtra 2.23–2.25

Sanskrit / transliterated text: `vAyvantAnAmekam // 2-23 // kRmipipIlikAbhramaramanuSyAdInAmekaikavRddhAni // 2-24 // saMjJinaH samanaskAH // 2-25`

Meaning / classification:

• One-sensed beings: earth, water, fire, air, and vegetable beings
• Two-sensed: earthworms, leeches, etc.
• Three-sensed: ants, bugs, etc.
• Four-sensed: flies, bees, mosquitoes, etc.
• Five-sensed: birds, beasts, humans, heavenly and infernal beings ( jainqq.org)

Gujarati meaning: “એક-ઇન્દ્રિય જીવોમાં પૃથ્વીકાય, અપ્કાય, તેઉકાય, વાયુકાય અને વનસ્પતિકાય આવે છે; જ્યારે ગાય જેવા પ્રાણી પંચેન્દ્રિય છે.” ( jainqq.org)

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(C) Tattvārtha Sūtra 7.8

Sanskrit: `pramattayogāt prāṇavyaparopaṇaṃ hiṃsā // 7-8 //`

Meaning in Gujarati: “અપ્રમાદના અભાવે કોઈ જીવના પ્રાણોનો નાશ કરવો તે હિંસા છે.” ( jainqq.org)

How this applies: Root vegetables also involve violence because uprooting them harms life. But killing a cow is a much greater prāṇa-violation because the cow is a fully mobile, five-sensed jīva. ( jainqq.org)

2) Proper Jain justification

Why cow-killing is worse than root-vegetable harm

1. Ekendriya jīvas have only one sense, touch.
2. Panchendriya jīvas have five senses and far greater capacity for experience, pain, and life-activity.
3. Jain scripture defines himsā as destruction of prāṇa, and the higher the degree of life-organization, the greater the violence. ( jainqq.org)

So, in Jain ethics:

• Root vegetables = still himsā, therefore avoided by many Jains.
• Killing a cow for food = far greater pāpa, because it is direct destruction of a panchendriya jīva. ( jainqq.org)

3) Short conclusion

Answer: Killing a cow is much worse karmically than eating root vegetables. Root vegetables are not approved as ideal Jain food because they contain life and involve himsā, but the slaughter of a panchendriya jīva is a much heavier pāpa in Jain dharma. ( jainqq.org)

If you want, I can next format this into a clean Gujarati-only version with:

• granth name
• shlok / sutra number
• Prakrit/Sanskrit text
• Gujarati meaning
• one-line Jain conclusion