Answer

In Jain tradition, plucking out hair is mainly associated with diksha — formal renunciation and initiation into monkhood or nunhood. This practice is called keśa-lochana or locha.

It is not a general Jain practice for children. A child’s hair is not plucked as a routine religious custom. If a minor is undergoing diksha, the matter is treated as a very serious religious step and differs by tradition, community, family, and legal/social context.

Explanation

Keśa-lochana means removing the hair by hand rather than cutting or shaving it. It is practiced by Jain monks and nuns as part of the discipline of renunciation.

The reasons traditionally given are:

• Renunciation of bodily attachment: Hair is connected with beauty, identity, and personal appearance. Removing it by hand symbolizes giving up attachment to the body.
• Endurance of hardship: Jain ascetic life requires tolerance of discomfort with equanimity. Locha is a visible practice of self-control and forbearance.
• Simplicity and non-possession: Monks and nuns do not keep grooming tools or engage in beautification. This supports the vow of non-possession.
• Spiritual discipline: The focus is not pain for its own sake, but reducing attachment, ego, and dependence on bodily comfort.

Important Clarification

Jain Dharma places great emphasis on ahimsa, non-violence. So this practice must be understood within the framework of voluntary ascetic discipline.

It is not meant to be:

• a punishment,
• a forced act,
• a casual ritual,
• or something done to ordinary children.

When associated with initiation, it is part of entering an extremely disciplined monastic life.

Spiritual Understanding

In Jainism, liberation requires freedom from attachment, passions, ego, and karma. For ascetics, locha becomes a powerful reminder:

• “I am not this body.”
• “Beauty and comfort are temporary.”
• “My true aim is purification of the soul.”

Takeaway

The Jain practice of hair-plucking is called keśa-lochana. It belongs to monastic renunciation, not ordinary childhood practice. Its purpose is to cultivate detachment, endurance, simplicity, and spiritual discipline — but it should never be understood as cruelty or as a general ritual imposed on children.