(, IAST: ; ; ) is the ancient Indian principle of nonviolence that applies to actions toward all living beings. It is a key virtue in Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.
(also spelled Ahinsa) is one of the cardinal virtues of Jainism, where it is the first of the Pancha Mahavrata. It is also one of the central precepts of Hinduism and the first of the five precepts of Buddhism. is inspired by the premise that all living beings have the spark of the divine spiritual energy; therefore, to hurt another being is to hurt oneself. is also related to the notion that all acts of violence have karmic consequences. Ancient scholars of Brahmanism investigated and refined the principles of , but the concept reached an extraordinary development in the ethical philosophy of Jainism. Mahavira, the 24th and the last of Jainism, further strengthened the idea in . About , Valluvar emphasized and moral vegetarianism as virtues for an individual, which formed the core of his teachings in the Kural. Perhaps the most popular advocate of in modern times was Mohandas K. Gandhi.
's precept that humans should "cause no injury" to another living being includes one's deeds, words, and thoughts. Classical Hindu texts such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, as well as modern scholars, disagree about what the principle of dictates when one is faced with war and other situations that require self-defence. In this way, historical Indian literature has contributed to just war theory and self-defence.
Etymology The word —sometimes spelled —derives from the Sanskrit root , meaning to strike; is injury or harm, while (prefixed with the alpha privative), its opposite, is non-harming or nonviolence.
Historical evolution Reverence for can be found in Jain, Hindu, and Buddhist canonical texts. Lord Parshvanatha (the 23rd of Jainism's 24 Tirthankaras) is said to have preached as one of the four vows. Scholars describe nonviolence as a central doctrinal and practical principle of Jainism, developed to an extent that distinguishes it from most other religious traditions of the Indian subcontinent.
Pre-Vedic and Shramanic roots hypothesis The Rigveda (c. 1500 BCE) is the oldest surviving text in India, but many scholars believe the specific ethical practice of ahimsa originated in the non-Vedic Sramana traditions (which include Jainism and Buddhism) before being absorbed into Brahmanism.
Some scholars, such as P. R. Deshmukh, suggest that the roots of ahimsa and asceticism may date to the Indus Valley Civilisation (c. 3300–1300 BCE), citing the discovery of seals depicting figures in the kayotsarga (standing meditation) posture common to Jain iconography.
Indologist Johannes Bronkhorst has proposed the "Greater Magadha" theory, arguing that the eastern Gangetic plain (modern Bihar/Bengal) developed a distinct non-Vedic culture where concepts like Karma, rebirth, and ahimsa originated. According to this view, the Vedic priesthood later adopted these concepts as they expanded eastward. Similarly, the German Indologist Ludwig Alsdorf argued that ahimsa likely began not as a moral rule but as a "magico-ritualistic" taboo against killing or harming living beings, which was part of a pan-Indian or pre-Aryan heritage later refined into an ethical system by the Jains.
Evolution in the Vedic tradition The concept of ahimsa evolved gradually within the Vedic tradition. In the early Vedic period (c. 1500–1000 BCE), animal sacrifice was a central component of ritual life. Then the concept transitioned from a ritualistic concern-avoiding injury to the sacrificer or the minute details of the ritual—to an internalized ethical virtue.
By the late Vedic era, texts like the Chandogya Upanishad (c. 8th century BCE) explicitly listed ahimsa as one of five essential virtues (along with truthfulness and charity). The Yajurveda reflects this shifting ethos with prayers for universal peace, such as: "May all beings look at me with a friendly eye, may I do likewise, and may we look at each other with the eyes of a friend".
Integration into governance The principle of ahimsa moved from personal asceticism to state policy under the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka (c. 268–232 BCE). Following the Kalinga War, Ashoka renounced military conquest in favor of "conquest by Dharma". His Rock Edicts restricted animal slaughter, established medical care for animals, and promoted nonviolence as a civic duty, embedding the Shramanic value of ahimsa into India's political fabric. Jainism
In Jainism, the understanding and implementation of is more radical, scrupulous, and comprehensive than in any other religion. Killing any living being out of passions like attachment is considered (to injure) and abstaining from such an act is (noninjury). The vow of is considered the foremost among the "five vows of Jainism". Other vows like truth () are meant for safeguarding the vow of .
The statement (or, "Non-injury/nonviolence/harmlessness is the supreme/ultimate/paramount/highest/absolute duty/virtue/attribute/religion") is often found inscribed on the walls of the Jain temples. As in Hinduism, the aim is to prevent the accumulation of harmful karma.
The Hierarchy of Life The Jain concept of ahimsa is characterised by detailed classifications of life. Jains categorize living beings (jiva) based on their sensory faculties (indriyas), ranging from one-sensed beings (plants, water, earth) to five-sensed beings (humans, animals).
Killing of animals for food is absolutely ruled out. Jains also make considerable efforts not to injure plants in everyday life as far as possible. Though they admit that plants must be destroyed for the sake of food, they accept such violence only inasmuch as it is indispensable for human survival, and there are special instructions for preventing unnecessary violence against plants. Jain monks and nuns go out of their way so as not to hurt even small insects and other minuscule animals. Both the renouncers and the laypeople of Jain faith reject meat, fish, alcohol, and honey as these are believed to harm large or minuscule life forms.
Ascetic vs. householder codes In the practice of , the requirements are less strict for the lay persons () who have undertaken (Smaller Vows) than for the Jain monastics who are bound by the Mahavrata "Great Vows".Religious Vegetarianism, ed. Kerry S. Walters and Lisa Portmess, Albany 2001, p. 43–46 (translation of the First Great Vow).
Jain scholars have debated the potential injury to other life forms during one's occupation. Certain Jain texts (according to Padmanabh Jaini, a Jainism scholar) forbid people of its faith from husbandry, agriculture, and trade in animal-derived products. Some Jains abstain from farming because it inevitably entails unintentional killing or injuring of many small animals, such as worms and insects. These teachings, in part, have led the Jain community to focus on trade, merchant, clerical, and administrative occupations to minimize (occupational violence against all life forms). For the layperson, the teaching has been of with – that is, reducing violence through proper intention and being careful in every action on a daily basis to minimize violence to all life forms.
Intellectual non-violence When Mahavira revived and reorganised the Jain faith in , was already an established, strictly observed rule. Rishabhanatha (Ādinātha), the first Jain Tirthankara, whom modern Western historians consider to be a historical figure, followed by Parshvanatha (Pārśvanātha) the twenty-third Tirthankara lived in about . He founded the community to which Mahavira's parents belonged.Acaranga Sutra 2.15. Ahimsa was already part of the "Fourfold Restraint" (Caujjama), the vows taken by Parshva's followers.Sthananga Sutra 266 In the times of Mahavira and in the following centuries, Jains were at odds with both Buddhists and followers of the Vedic religion or Hindus, whom they accused of negligence and inconsistency in the implementation of . According to the Jain tradition either lacto vegetarianism or veganism is prescribed.
Just war and self-defense The Jain texts, unlike most Hindu and Buddhist texts on just war, have been inconsistent. For its monastic community – and – the historically accepted practice has been to "willingly sacrifice one's own life" to the attacker, to not retaliate, so that the mendicant may keep the First Great Vow of "total nonviolence". Jain literature of , for example, describes a king ready for war and being given lessons about non-violence by the Jain acharya (spiritual teacher). In and thereafter, in an era of violent raids, destruction of temples, the slaughter of agrarian communities and ascetics by Islamic armies, Jain scholars reconsidered the First Great Vow of mendicants and its parallel for the laypeople. The medieval texts of this era, such as by Jinadatta Suri, recommended both the mendicants and the laypeople to fight and kill if that would prevent greater and continued violence on humans and other life forms (). Such exemptions to is a relatively rare teaching in Jain texts, states Dundas.
Modern reception Mahatma Gandhi stated, "No religion in the World has explained the principle of so deeply and systematically as is discussed with its applicability in every human life in Jainism. As and when the benevolent principle of or non-violence will be ascribed for practice by the people of the world to achieve their end of life in this world and beyond, Jainism is sure to have the uppermost status and Mahāvīra is sure to be respected as the greatest authority on ".
Hinduism
Ancient Vedic texts as an ethical concept evolved in the Vedic texts. The oldest scriptures indirectly mention . Over time, the Hindu scripts revised ritual practices, and the concept of was increasingly refined and emphasized until it became the highest virtue by the late Vedic era. The Yajurveda, dated between and , says, "may all beings look at me with a friendly eye, may I do likewise, and may we look at each other with the eyes of a friend".
The term appears in the text Taittiriya Shakha of the Yajurveda (TS 5.2.8.7), where it refers to non-injury to the sacrificer. It occurs several times in the Shatapatha Brahmana in the sense of "non-injury".Shatapatha Brahmana 2.3.4.30; 2.5.1.14; 6.3.1.26; 6.3.1.39. The doctrine is a late Vedic era development in Brahmanical culture. The earliest reference to the idea of nonviolence to animals (), apparently in a moral sense, is in the Kapisthala Katha Samhita of the Yajurveda (KapS 31.11), which may have been written around . The Chandogya Upanishad (3.17.4) includes ahimsa in its list of virtues.
According to John Bowker, the word appears but is uncommon in the principal Upanishads. Kaneda gives examples of the word in these Upanishads. Other scholars suggest as an ethical concept started evolving in the Vedas, becoming an increasingly central concept in the Upanishads.
The Chāndogya Upaniṣad, dated to , one of the oldest Upanishads, has the earliest evidence of Vedic use of the word in the sense familiar in Hinduism (a code of conduct). It bars violence against "all creatures" (), and the practitioner of is said to escape the cycle of rebirths (CU 8.15.1). Some scholars say this mention may have been a Jainist influence on Vedic Hinduism. Others scholar say that is speculative, and though Jainism is an ancient tradition, the oldest traceable texts of Jainism are from many centuries after the Vedic era ended.
Chāndogya Upaniṣad also names , along with (truthfulness), (sincerity), (charity), and (penance/meditation), as one of five essential virtues (CU 3.17.4).Ravindra Kumar (2008), Non-violence and Its Philosophy, , see pages 11–14