Violence (हिंसा)

तेणं कालेणं तेणं समएणं चम्पा णामं णयरी होत्था । पुण्णभद्दे चेइए । ...तए णं से अज्जजंबू जायसड्ढे जाव पज्जुवासमाणे एवं वयासी — दसमस्स णं अंगस्स पण्हावागरणाणं के अट्ठे पण्णत्ते? जंबू ! दो सुयक्खंधा — आसवदारा य संवरदारा य ।...पंचविहो पण्णत्तो, जिणेहिं इह अण्हओ अणाईओ । हिंसामोसमदत्तं अब्बंभपरिग्गहं चेव ॥ जारिसमो जं णामा, जह य काओ जारिसं फलं देइ । जे वि य करेंति पावा, पाणवहं तं णिसामेह ॥

In the city of Champa — where King Konik ruled and the Purnabhadra garden was — Arya Sudharmashvami arrived with five hundred monks. There, his disciple Arya Jambu asked: "What meaning has Mahavir declared in the tenth Anga?" The teacher answered: "Two Shrutaskandhas — the Gate of Influx and the Gate of Restraint." Asked further, he declared: "The Jinas have declared the Influx to be fivefold and beginningless: Himsa, Mrushavad, Adattadan, Abrahmacharya, and Parigraha. Whatever each is by name, by form, by the fruit it gives — hear now about those who commit the killing of living beings."

This opening establishes the entire architecture of the Prashnavyakaran. The dialogue form — teacher and student, question and answer — is not incidental. It models the correct posture for receiving difficult truth: sincere inquiry, reverential closeness, no hurry to conclusion. The three opening gathas are the seed of everything that follows: first, Sudharmashvami declares he will speak the nectar of the teaching; second, he names the five Aashravs as fivefold, beginningless, and real; third, he sets the method: examine each by name, by nature, by fruit. This is not a catechism of rules — it is a systematic inquiry into how the soul gets trapped.

The simple version: Jambu asked his teacher what the tenth Jain scripture teaches. The answer: it teaches about five things that flood karma into the soul, and five vows that stop it. This chapter begins with the first — violence.

पाणवहो णाम एसो जिणेहिं भणिओ— पावो, चंडो, रुद्धो, खुद्दो, साहिसओ, अणारिओ, णिग्घिणो, णिस्संसो, महब्भओ, पइभओ, अइभओ, बीहणओ, तासणओ, अणज्जओ, उव्वेयणओ य, णिरवयक्खो, णिद्धम्मो, णिप्पिवासो, णिक्कलुणो, णिरयवासगमणिणधणो, मोहमहब्भयपयट्टओ, मरणवेमणस्सो । एस पढमं अहम्मदारं ॥

This killing of living beings — declared by the Jinas — is: sinful, fierce, terrible, base, reckless, ignoble, merciless, cruel, a cause of great fear, a cause of fear to every being, a cause of extreme fear, terrifying, horrifying, unjust, agitating, contemptuous of others, irreligious, without compassion for life, without mercy, leading to residence in hell, a trigger of delusion and great fear, and the cause of the bitterness of death. This is the First Gate of Evil.

This sutra delivers 22 descriptors of violence — not synonyms, but distinct facets. "Chando" (fierce) describes the inner state of one who kills. "Khuddo" (base) reveals that violence is a contraction of consciousness — only a narrow, self-focused being can commit it. "Niddhamo" (irreligious) is the definitive Jain statement: there is no religious violence. "Himsa namo bhavetadharmo" — violence has never in any of the three times been religion. The three fear-names — Mahabbhao, Padibhao, Adibhao — form a cascade: violence restructures the emotional reality of every being present. The world becomes more fearful wherever violence operates.

The simple version: The Jinas gave 22 names to violence — every one reveals something wrong with it. It makes the killer cruel, petty, fearful, and irreligious. It leads straight to hell. There is no version of violence that is sacred.

तस्स य णामाणि इमाणि गोण्णाणि होंति तीसं, तं जहा— पाणवहं, उम्मूलणा सरीराओ, अवीसंभो, हिंसविहिंसा, अकिच्चं, घायणा, मारणा, वहणा, उद्वणा, तिवायणा, आरंभसमारंभो, आउयकम्मस्सुवद्दवो, मच्चू, असंजमो, कडगमद्दणं, वोरमणं, परभव-संकामकारओ, दुग्गइप्पवाओ, पावकोवो, पावलोभो, छिविच्छेओ, जीवियंतकरणो, भयंकरो, अणकरो, वज्जो, परियावण-अण्हओ, विणासो, णिज्जवणा, लुंपणा, गुणाणं विराहणत्ति य ॥

Violence has thirty synonymous karmic names: killing of life-forces, uprooting from the body, distrust, violence and counter-violence, improper action, the killing blow, death-producing, slaughter, torment, triple destruction, initiation and execution of harm, damage to life-karma, death, lack of restraint, brutal crushing, separation from life, carrier to the next birth, fall into bad destiny, wrath of sin, greed for sin, cutting down, life-ending, fear-producing, debt-creator, what weighs like a thunderbolt, influx of torment, destruction, annihilation, plundering, and obstruction of virtues.

Where Sutra 2 gave the qualitative character of violence (what kind of thing it is), this sutra gives its karmic names — what violence does to existence. "Avisambho" (distrust) is profound: violence poisons trust between all beings. Once violence enters a relationship, the possibility of trust collapses — this is as true for social orders as for individual souls. "Rnanakara" (debt-creator) introduces the economic metaphor of karma: every act of violence creates a debt that must be repaid. "Gunanam Virahana" is the ultimate condemnation: violence destroys the virtues — compassion, honesty, nobility — in both the killer and the killed.

The simple version: Violence has 30 different faces — all harmful. It destroys trust, drags the soul toward hell, creates debt that must be repaid, and wipes out virtues in both the killer and the victim.

तं च पुण करेंति केइ पावा असंजया अविरया अणिहुयपरिणामदुप्पयोगा पाणवहं भयंकरं बहुविहं बहुप्पगारं परदुक्खुप्पायणसत्ता इमेहिं तसथावरेहिं जीवेहिं पिडिणिवित्ता । किं ते ?

And some sinful ones — unrestrained, undisciplined, whose inner states are unquiet and whose use of mind-speech-body is corrupt — deeply attached to causing suffering to others, commit this terrible, many-formed killing of living beings against both mobile and stationary beings. Who are they?

The perpetrators are characterized not by their profession or species but by their inner state: unrestrained, unquiet, corrupt in the use of mind-speech-body. This is the Jain understanding of the root of violence — it lies not in circumstances but in the quality of inner life. The phrase "paradukkhupayana-satta" — deeply attached to causing suffering to others — names a specific psychological type: the being who is not merely indifferent to pain but actively seeks it. This is identified as one of the deepest forms of spiritual blindness. The question "who are they?" opens a comprehensive catalog of violent beings across all of existence.

The simple version: Violent beings are defined not by what they are but by their inner state: unrestrained, corrupted, actively seeking others' suffering. The catalog that follows shows this state across every form of life.

पाठीण-तिमि-तिमिंगल-अणेगझस-विविहजाइमंदुक्क-दुविहकच्छभ-णक्क-मगर-दुविहगाह-दिलिवेढय-मंडुय-सीमागार-पुलुय-सुंसुमार-बहुप्पगारा जलयरविहाणा ।

The Pathin fish, Timi (whale), Timingala (great whale), many varieties of large fish, frogs, two kinds of tortoises, crocodiles, various aquatic predators, the coiling Dilivethaya, the Manduka frog, Simagara, Pulaka, Sunsumara — these and many other kinds of aquatic species commit violence.

The catalog of violent aquatic creatures serves a precise philosophical purpose: to show the scale and universality of violence in nature. Each creature listed is identified not by biological classification but by its relationship to violence — it kills to survive. The Jain understanding is subtle here: these creatures are not condemned as sinners — they lack the moral agency that comes with full rationality. Yet the karma they accumulate still binds them, and the suffering they cause is still real. The enormous creatures — Timi and Timingala, world-ocean predators — reflect the Jain cosmological understanding of life at every scale from the infinitesimally small to the cosmologically vast.

The simple version: From small frogs to massive ocean creatures, the violence of aquatic life is ancient and vast. The sutra lists them not to condemn them but to show how deeply woven violence is into existence — and how rare and precious it is to be a being who can actually choose to stop.

कुरंग-रुरु-सरस-चमर-संबर-उरभ-ससय-पसय-गोण-रोहिय-हय-गय-खर-करभ-खग्ग-वागर-गवय-विग-सियाल-कोल-मज्जार-वियघ-छगल-दीविय-तरच्छ-अच्छ-भल्ल-सद्दूल-सीह चउप्पयविहाणा ।

The deer, Ruru deer, Chamari yak, Sambara deer, ram, hare, bull, horse, elephant, donkey, camel, rhinoceros, wild ox, jackal, boar, cat, tiger, goat, leopard, hyena, bear, lion — these and many other four-footed creatures commit violence.

The catalog moves from grazing animals to predators — and this juxtaposition is philosophically deliberate. Even the humble hare, the deer, the bull are "violent" in the Jain sense because they consume other life. The lion and tiger are obvious cases. But including the hare, the goat, and the horse reminds us that no creature in samsara is completely free from harming others to sustain itself. From the most timid creature to the most fearsome predator, the four-footed world is a world of violence. This is why liberation is the only true escape — the wheel of birth continuously places beings in bodies that must harm others to survive.

The simple version: From deer to lions, from rabbits to elephants — the four-footed world is full of creatures that harm other creatures to survive. No animal in this world is entirely free from causing harm.

अयगर-गोणस-वराहि-मडुलि-काओदर-दब्भपुप्फ-आसालिय-महोरगोर-गिवहाणा ।

The python, Gonasa serpent, Varahi (a poison-eyed serpent), Maduli, Kaodara, Darbhapushpa, Asaliya, and the Mahoraga (a mythologically vast serpent of cosmic proportions) — these and other chest-moving creatures commit violence.

The range from common snake to the Mahoraga — which the commentary describes as potentially up to one thousand yojanas in length — in a single list makes the point: the serpent world spans the ordinary and the cosmological. Even that massive body dissolves into the earth at death, moments after its lifespan ends. The ecological and spiritual point: the serpent triggers instinctive revulsion in most beings, yet it is simply another creature trapped in samsara — killing to survive, dying in its turn. The Jain practitioner is invited to see beyond the revulsion and recognize the shared predicament.

The simple version: From the common garden snake to the mythological cosmic serpent, all belly-moving creatures participate in violence as part of their nature. Even the most feared creature is just another being trapped in samsara.

छीरल-सरंब-सेह-सेल्लग-गोधा-उंदुर-णडल-सरड-जाहग-मुगुंस-खाडिहल-वाउिप्पय-घिरोलिया-सिरीसिवगणे य ।

The Chhiral, Saranba, Sheha, Chandhagho reptile, monitor lizard (Godha), rat, Nadala, chameleon-like Sarada, Jahaga, Mugumsa, Khadihala, Vaupiya, house gecko (Ghiroliya), and Sirisiva — these arm-moving creatures commit violence.

The inclusion of the familiar household gecko (Ghiroliya) is deliberate: even in our most intimate spaces, violence is present. The gecko catches insects to survive; the rat gnaws through food stores. Violence is not something we can put at a safe distance — it is embedded in domestic life itself. The Bhujparsar (arm-movers) complete the catalog of reptilian life, bridging the wild and the domestic. Harm does not only happen in wild, dramatic places — it lives in our homes, in our kitchens, in our everyday spaces.

The simple version: From the monitor lizard to the household gecko, even arm-moving creatures participate in the web of violence. Even the small lizard on your wall is part of samsara's endless chain of harm.

कादंबक-बक-बलाका-सारस-कीर-सउण-हंस-भास-कोंच-चक्कवाग-गरुल-सुय-बरिहिण-मयणसाल-जीवजीवग-तित्तिर-वट्टग-कवोतग-पारेवग-चिडिग-कुक्कड-मयूरग-सेण-वायस-वग्गुलि खहयरविहाणा ।

The heron, crane, Sarasa crane, parrot, goose, swan, owl, wading bird, chakravak, Garuda, parrot, peacock, myna, Jivamjiva, partridge, quail, pigeon, dove, sparrow, rooster, peacock, eagle, crow, bat — these and many other aerial creatures commit violence.

This is the longest of the animal catalog sutras, reflecting the vast diversity of bird life known to the ancient Jain tradition. The inclusion of the Garuda — mythological king of birds — is significant: even a being of cosmic power is named in the catalog of violence. Power does not exempt one from karma. The bird world is visually beautiful — peacocks, swans, parrots, the chakravak — yet the sutra holds this beauty accountable. This is not a condemnation of beauty. It is an honest reckoning: even the most beautiful forms are entangled in harm.

The simple version: From tiny sparrows to the mythological Garuda, from crows to peacocks, the aerial world is also a world of violence. No creature — however beautiful, however mighty — is exempt from the web of harm.

जल-थल-खग-चारिणो उ पंचिंदियसुगणे बिय-तिय-चउरिंदिए विविहे जीवे पियजीविए मरणदुक्खपडिकूले वाराए हणंति बहुसंकिलिट्टुकम्मा ।

The sinful, greatly karma-stained beings kill, without mercy, the various living beings — moving through water, land, and sky — five-sensed, four-sensed, three-sensed, and two-sensed — all of whom love life and find death utterly repugnant.

This sutra is the philosophical capstone of the entire animal catalog. After listing hundreds of specific creatures, the text steps back and delivers the universal truth: all these beings — in water, on land, in the sky, whether two-sensed or five-sensed — have one thing in common: they love life and fear death. "Priяajivie maraṇadukkhapaḍikūle" — "life is dear to them; death is utterly repugnant." This principle is the philosophical foundation of Jain non-violence. The Acharanga Sutra states it directly: "All beings desire to live, none wishes to die." If this is true — and the Jain tradition holds that it is — then the taking of any life is a violation of the most fundamental desire of another being.

The simple version: Every creature — from the tiniest two-sensed worm to the five-sensed human — loves its own life and dreads death. When we harm these creatures, we are violating something they hold most dear.

इमेहिं विविहेहिं कारणेहिं, किं ते ? चम्म-वसा-मंस-मेय-सोणिय-जग-फिफ्फस-मत्थुलुंग-हिययंत-पित्त-फोफस-दंतट्टि-अट्टिमिंज-णह-णयण-कण्ण-णहारुणि-णक्क-धमणि-सिंग-दाढि-पिच्छ-विस-विसाण-वालहेउं । हिंसंति य भमर-महुकिरिगणे रसेसु गिद्धा तहेव तेइंदिए सरीरोवगरण टुयाए, किवणे बेइंदिए बहवे वत्थोहर-परिमंडण्टुआ ।

For what reasons? For: skin, fat, flesh, blood, liver, lungs, brain, heart organs, bile, teeth, bone marrow, nails, eyes, ears, sinews, nose, veins, horns, tusks, feathers, poison, ivory, and tails. And sinful beings harm bees for honey; three-sensed beings for bodily comfort; and two-sensed beings (silkworms) for clothing and ornamentation.

This sutra names the 24 products for which five-sensed beings are killed. The list spans the obvious (meat, hide) to the less visible (bile, sinews, bone marrow, eyes, ears). The second part is particularly significant: violence against bees for honey and against silkworms for silk — both often considered acceptable. The Jain position is clear: these are violence. The fact that the victim is "small" or "lower" does not remove the karmic weight. Human civilization has built an elaborate economy of violence — almost every luxury and many necessities have historically been obtained through killing. The sutra names this directly and without euphemism.

The simple version: People kill animals for dozens of reasons — meat, skin, bones, blood, honey, silk, ivory. For almost every one of these, there is an alternative that does not require killing. The sutra names every reason and, by naming them, asks: is this really necessary?

अण्णेहिं य एवमाइएहिं बहूहिं कारणसएहिं अबुहा इह हिंसंति तसे पाणे । इमेय-एगिंदिए बहवे वाराए... अत्ताणे, असरणे, अणाहे, अबंधवे, कम्मणिगडबद्धे... पुढविमए, पुढविसंसिए, जलमए... एगिंदिए थावरकाए सुहुम-बायर-पत्तेय-सरीरणाम-साहारणे अणंते हणंति ।

By hundreds of reasons, the ignorant harm mobile beings. They also harm single-sensed beings — without refuge, without shelter, without protector, without kinsman, bound in the chains of their own karma: earth-beings, water-beings, fire-beings, air-beings, and plant-beings — fine-bodied, coarse-bodied, individual-bodied, and common-bodied — infinite in number.

This sutra makes the leap from visible to invisible life — philosophically breathtaking. Having cataloged fish, animals, birds, and reptiles, the sutra turns to the beings that cannot even be seen: the one-sensed beings of earth, water, fire, air, and plants. The description is simultaneously compassionate and precise: without refuge, without shelter, without protector, without kinsman. This is not a description of inferior creatures — it is a description of their vulnerability. The stationary beings (sthavar-kaya) are declared infinite in number. The Vivechan corroborates with the modern scientific finding that a single drop of water contains 36,000 living beings. The final line: "both those who are unaware and those who are aware are killed" — the absence of awareness in the victim does not reduce the karmic weight.

The simple version: Violence reaches beings we cannot even see. Earth, water, fire, air, and plants all contain living beings — beings with no protection, no protector, no defense. They are harmed both by those who don't know they exist and by those who do.

किं ते ? किरसण-पोक्खरिणी-वावि-वप्पिणि-कूव-सर-तलाग-चिइ-वेदि-खाइय-आराम-विहार-थूभ-पागार-दार-गोउर-अट्टालग-चरिया-सेउ-संकम-पासाय-भवण-घर-सरण-लयण-आवण-चेइय-देवकुल-चित्तसभा-पवा-आयतणा-वसह-भूमिघर-मंडवाण काए पुढवीं हिंसंति मंदबुद्धिया ।

For what reasons are earth-beings harmed? Agriculture, ponds, tanks, wells, lakes, altars, moats, gardens, monasteries, stupas, ramparts, gates, towers, bridges, palaces, mansions, houses, caves, shops, temples, assembly halls, water pavilions, cattle-sheds — and for obtaining vessels and equipment — the foolish harm earth-beings.

This sutra completes the picture of earth-being violence by naming every human activity that causes it. The list is comprehensive: agriculture, construction, religious architecture, commerce, domestic life — all appear. The sutra does not spare even the religious context: building a monastery (vihara), a stupa, or a temple all involve disturbing earth-beings. The Jain tradition is not paralyzed by this — it has always built. The point is awareness and minimization. The term "mandabuddhiya" (dull-witted) applied to those who commit this harm without awareness is key: the sutra does not say they are evil — it says they are unaware. Awareness is itself the beginning of non-violence.

The simple version: Every time we dig the earth — to farm, to build, to create anything — we harm earth-beings. Even building a temple involves this harm. The point is not to stop building, but to become aware and minimize harm wherever possible.

जलं च मज्जण-पाण-भोयण-वत्थधोवण-सोयमाइएहिं ।

Water-beings are harmed through bathing, drinking, cooking, washing clothes, and purification activities — and by similar means.

This is one of the most concise sutras in the chapter, but among the most challenging. Every human being bathes, drinks, cooks, washes clothes, and cleans — all involve the use of water. And water, in the Jain understanding, contains innumerable living beings. The Vivechan does not ask us to stop drinking. The point is awareness and careful use: use only what is needed, waste nothing, be conscious that each cup of water contains life. The Jain practice of filtering water through cloth before drinking is an expression of this awareness — an attempt to minimize harm even in the most basic acts.

The simple version: Water contains living beings. Every time we bathe, drink, cook, or wash — we are using water that has life in it. We cannot stop using water, but we can use less, waste less, and be more careful.

पयण-पयावण-जलावण-विदंसणेहिं अगणिं ।

Fire-beings are harmed through cooking, heating, lighting fires, and illuminating.

Fire-beings (Teukaya) are among the most continuously harmed beings in human life. Every act of cooking, every candle lit, every fire started for warmth involves the destruction of fire-beings. In the modern world: every electrical appliance that produces heat, every stove, every match struck, every fireplace. The traditional Jain response was to minimize unnecessary fires — eating food cooked once rather than repeatedly, using the minimum amount of flame necessary. Modern relevance: reducing energy consumption, avoiding unnecessary burning — these are contemporary expressions of this ancient teaching.

The simple version: Every time we cook, heat something, or light a flame, we are harming fire-beings. We cannot stop cooking — but we can cook less often, use less fire, and be more conscious.

सुप्प-वियण-तालयंट-पेहुण-मुह-करयल-सागपत्त-वत्थमाइएहिं अणिलं हिंसंति ।

Air-beings are harmed by using a winnowing fan, waving fans, blowing with the mouth, clapping hands, and fanning with leaves and cloth — and similar acts.

Air-beings (Vaukaya) are harmed by any sudden or violent movement of air. This is among the most surprising of the Jain teachings for modern readers: simply fanning oneself, blowing on food, or waving one's hand involves harm. The traditional Jain response — the monk carrying the rajoharana (small broom) and speaking through a mouth-cover (muhpatti) — reflects this awareness. The muhpatti worn by Jain monks and nuns is not only to prevent insects from entering the mouth but also to slow the movement of air from the breath, reducing harm to air-beings.

The simple version: Even moving air — by fanning, blowing, waving — harms air-beings. Every breath we take disturbs these beings. The point is not to stop breathing but to be gentle and aware of what we are doing.

अगार-परियार-भक्ख-भोयण-सयणासण-फलक-मूसल-उक्खल-तति-ततातोज्ज-वहण-वाहण-मंडव-विविह-भवण-तोरण-देवकुल-जालय-णिस्सेणि-दोणी-चंगेरी-खील-सभा-मल्लागुलेवणं-अंबर-जुहणगल-अट्टालग-दार-जंत-सूलिय-लउड-मुसंढि-सयग्घी-बहुपहरणाणि-अण्णेहिं य बहूहिं कारणसएहिं हिंसइ ते तरुगणे ।

Plant-beings are harmed for: building houses, obtaining food, beds, seats, boards, mortars, pestles, musical instruments, carts, pavilions, temples, lattices, ladders, baskets, garlands, garments, incense, tools, spears, clubs, weapons — and for many other hundreds of reasons — the ignorant harm the plant community.

This is the longest of the stationary-being sutras, reflecting the vast scope of plant-being harm in human civilization. The list is essentially a catalog of civilization itself: every building, every piece of furniture, every musical instrument, every vehicle, every weapon, every utensil. The philosophical point is radical: human civilization, in its entirety, has been built on the bodies of plant-beings. Not as an accusation — as a fact. The Jain tradition does not demand that civilization cease. It demands awareness, gratitude, and minimization: use what is needed, waste nothing, be grateful.

The simple version: Almost everything we use — food, furniture, houses, vehicles, clothing, tools — comes from plants. Plant-beings give their lives for human civilization. The least we can do is be aware, grateful, and avoid waste.

सत्ते सत्तपरिवजिया उवहणंति दढमूढा दारुणमई कोहा माणा माया लोहा हस्स रई अरई सोय वेयत्थी जीय-धम्मत्थकामहेउं सवसा अवसा अट्टाए अणट्टाए य तसपाणे थावरे य हिंसइ मंदबुद्धी । सवसा हणंति, अवसा हणंति... कुद्धा हणंति लुद्धा हणंति, मुद्धा हणंति... अत्था हणंति, धम्मा हणंति, कामा हणंति ।

Devoid of compassion for beings, of cruel mind — impelled by anger, pride, deceit, greed, laughter, attachment, aversion, grief, and the desire for worldly knowledge; for livelihood, religion (falsely understood), and sensual pleasure — willingly and unwillingly, purposefully and purposelessly — the foolish harm mobile and stationary beings. Some kill of their own will; some under compulsion; some kill for a purpose; some without purpose; some in anger; some in greed; some in delusion; some for livelihood; some for religion; some for pleasure.

This sutra is a masterpiece of psychological analysis. It does not ask who is killed — it asks why. The answer is comprehensive: beings are killed for every conceivable reason, from every conceivable inner state. The inclusion of "dharma" (religion) as a motive for killing is the most provocative point: when beings are killed "for religion," that religion is false religion. The systematic grid — voluntary/involuntary, purposeful/purposeless, angry/greedy/deluded — shows the universal reach of violence. It is not an aberration; it is a default pattern of samsaric existence. That is precisely why non-violence is not a natural state but a cultivated achievement.

The simple version: People kill for every possible reason — anger, greed, fun, fear, religion, profit, pleasure. Some kill on purpose, some by accident. The real root of violence is inside: in the passions that cloud judgment and make us willing to harm others.

कयरे ते ? जे ते सोयरिया मच्छबंधा साउणिया वाहा कूरकम्मा... महुघाया पोयघाया एणीयारा... सर-दह-दीहिय-तलाग-पल्लल-परिगालण-मलण-सोत्तबंधण-सलिलासयसोसगा-विसगरलस्स य दायगा उत्तणवल्लर-दविग-णिढ्या पलीवगा कूर कम्मकारी ।

Who are these violent people? Fishermen who catch fish in nets, fowlers who catch birds, hunters, pig-killers, those who use cage-traps, those who hunt with nooses and iron cages, forest dwellers, the greedy, bee-killers, those who capture female deer to lure males, those who drain and dry up ponds and lakes, those who bind water channels, those who administer poison, those who burn fields, those who dig — all these cruel deed-doers.

This sutra moves from abstract categories to concrete human occupations. The Vivechan observes that these violent people are defined not by hatred but by occupation and habit. They have made violence their livelihood, their daily practice. Changing it requires not just individual will but social transformation. The inclusion of those who drain water sources and burn fields alongside hunters and fishermen is significant: the sutra recognizes ecological violence alongside direct killing. Draining a pond kills every being in it. Burning a field destroys an entire ecosystem. These are not lesser forms of violence — they are merely less visible ones.

The simple version: From fishermen to hunters, from bee-keepers to those who drain swamps — dozens of occupations and activities are built entirely on killing. The sutra names them all to show how deeply violence is embedded in how human societies have organized themselves.

इमे य बहवे मिलक्खुजाई — सक-जवण-सबर-बब्बर-सीहल-पारस-चीण-रोम-मरहटु-अरब-हुण-रुरु-मरुया ।

And there are many other violent peoples — the Shaka (Scythians), Yavana (Greeks), Shabara, Barbara, Sinhala (Sri Lankans), Parasa (Persians), China, Roma (Romans?), Marahata (Maratha), Arab, Huna (Huns), Ruru, Maruya — and those dwelling in those regions — these are of evil disposition.

This sutra is historically rich and theologically subtle. On the surface it lists violent tribes; beneath the surface it makes a philosophical point: violence is not the property of any one culture. It spans the known world — from the Greeks to the Chinese to the Arabs to the Persians to the Huns. The deeper point: wherever there are beings who have not restrained their passions, violence follows. No culture, no civilization, no religion, no people is immune. This is both a humbling and a liberating teaching — it removes the temptation to locate violence "out there" in others and brings it back to the universal condition of unrestrained consciousness.

The simple version: Violence is not a problem of one culture or one people — it spans the entire known world. Wherever passions are unrestrained, violence follows. This is a human problem, not a tribal one.

जलयर-थलयर-सणफ्फ-योरग-खहयर-संडास्तुंड-जीवोवग्घायजीवी सण्णी य असण्णिणो पज्जत्ते अपज्जत्ते य असुभलेस्स-परिणामे एए अण्णे य एवमाई करेंति पाणाइवायकरणं । पावा पावाभिगमा पाणवहकयरई पाणवहकहासु अभिरमंता ।

Aquatic beings, land beings, aerial beings, reptiles, arm-moving creatures — those who live by destroying other lives — both those with mind and without, fully developed and underdeveloped, those of inauspicious karmic coloring — these and others commit the killing of living beings. Sinful ones — inclined toward sin, engaging in killing, embodying killing, taking pleasure in stories of killing — commit many forms of evil.

This sutra is the philosophical summary of the entire catalog section. Its most penetrating observation comes at the end: "those who take pleasure in stories of killing" — pāṇavahakahāsu abhiramaṃtā. The sutra identifies the consumer of violent entertainment as a participant in violence. The person who watches violent films, who takes pleasure in war narratives, who savors graphic descriptions of killing — is named here as a form of violent being. The psychology is sound: delight in violence, even vicarious, strengthens the karmic inclination toward violence.

The simple version: The catalog of violent beings ends here. The common thread across all of them is the inauspicious inner state. Even those who merely enjoy stories of killing are included — vicarious violence still builds karmic inclination toward violence.

तस्स य पावस्स फलविवागं अयाणमाणा वड्ढंति महब्भयं अविस्सामवेयणं दीहकाल बहुदुक्खसंकडं णरयतिरिक्खजोणिं ।

Not knowing the fruit of that sin, the foolish violent beings grow in great fear, ceaseless suffering, and long-duration pain — toward the hell-realm and the animal-realm, which are dense with countless sufferings.

The chapter pivots from description to consequence. The phrase "not knowing the fruit" (aяāṇamāṇā) is key: ignorance is not an excuse — in the Jain framework, it is itself the primary cause. The being who kills without knowing the consequence goes on accumulating karma that produces the very suffering they are trying to avoid. This is the cosmic irony of samsara: the pursuit of survival through violence generates the conditions for greater suffering. Hell and animal birth, both lasting enormous durations, dense with suffering — this is where violence-karma leads.

The simple version: Not knowing what their violence will cost them, sinful beings keep accumulating karmic debt — leading straight to hell and animal birth. Ignorance does not protect you from consequences.

इओ आउक्खए चुया असुभकम्मबहुला उववज्जंति णरएसु हुलियं महालएसु वयरमय कुड्ड-रुद्ध-णिस्संधि-दार-विरहिय-णिम्मद्दव-भूमितल-खरामिरस-विसम-णिरय-घरचारएसु महोसिण-सयावत्त-दुगंध-विस्स-उव्वेय-जणगेसु बीभच्छदरिसणिज्जेसु णिच्चं हिमपडलसीयलेसु कालोभासेसु भीम-गंभीर-लोम-हरिसणेसु णिरभिरामेसु णिप्पिडियार-वाहिरोगजरापीलिएसु अईव णिच्चंधयार-तिमिसेसु पइभएसु ।

When their lifespan is exhausted, these beings — having accumulated vast inauspicious karma — fall into the hell realms: vast halls whose walls are diamond, sealed and doorless, without softness in their floors, extremely hot, perpetually scorching, filled with foul odor, disgusting to behold; perpetually frozen in some places; dark and lightless; fearsome and deep; joyless; afflicted without remedy; absolutely pitch-dark; without the light of planet, moon, sun, or star; filled with fat, marrow, flesh, pus, blood, and sticky ooze; blazing with the Kukula-fire; with surfaces sharp as sword-blades and scorpion-like touch — crowded with the agents of death.

The description of hell in the Prashnavyakaran is among the most vivid in the Jain canon. The Vivechan makes a point that is philosophically important: the hell-being has a vaikriya (transformable) body — it cannot die of its injuries. The body reforms to continue suffering. Yamaduta tear it apart and it reassembles; they cook it and it recovers to be cooked again. The purpose of this vivid description is not sadism. The Jain tradition is explicit: these descriptions exist so that intelligent beings — beings with the capacity to choose — will take the path of non-violence seriously.

The simple version: Hell is not a metaphor. The sutra describes it in intense detail: sealed, dark, alternately burning and freezing, filled with filth and pain, with no exit and no relief. See it clearly, so you can choose differently.

तत्थ य अंतोमुहुत्तलद्धिभवपच्चयेणं णिवत्तंति उ ते सरीरं हुंडं बीभच्छदरिसणिज्जं अट्टि-णहारु-णह-रोम-वजियं असुभगं दुक्खविसहं । तओ य पज्जत्तिमुवगया इंदिएहिं पंचहिं वेयंति असुहाए वेयणाए उज्जल-बल विउलुक्कड-खर-फरुस-पयंड-घोर-बीहणगदारुणाए ॥

There, within a single moment, through the power of their vaikriya birth-form, they create their own body — misshapen (hunda-samsthan), disgusting and horrible to look at, terrifying, devoid of bones, sinews, nails, and hair — inauspicious and capable of bearing great suffering. Then, having reached completion through the six paryaptis, they experience through all five senses suffering that is: blazing, powerful, vast, fierce, harsh, cruel, tremendous, terrible, and dreadful.

The Jain tradition specifies that hell-beings have vaikriya bodies — made of finer matter, without bones, sinews, or hair. They are misshapen (hunda-samsthan — the worst of the six body-configurations). The Vivechan analyzes the nine descriptors of suffering: "Blazing" (ujjala) means no trace of pleasure exists. "Powerful" (bala) means it cannot be resisted. "Vast" (viula) means it pervades the entire body. "Fierce" (ukkaḍa) means it exceeds all extremes — beyond the maximum of what is bearable. All nine simultaneously, without relief.

The simple version: In hell, a being instantly creates a misshapen body — with no bones, no hair, just a form designed to suffer. Then, through all five senses, they experience suffering that is blazing, total, crushing, and without any relief whatsoever.

किं ते ? कंदुमहाकुंभिए पयण-पडलण-तवग-तलण-भट्टुभज्जणाणि य लोहकडाहु-कढणाणि य कोट्टुबलि-करण-कोट्टणाणि य सामिलितिक्खग-लोहकंटग-अभिसरणा-पसरणाणि फालणिवदारणाणि य अवकोडक-बंधणाणि लट्टिसयतालणाणि य गलगंबलुल्लंबणाणि सूलग्गभेयणाणि य आएसपवंचणाणि ।

What are the sufferings? Being cooked in pots and vats; being beaten, pounded, fried, roasted; being boiled in iron cauldrons; being crushed and pounded; being skewered on sharp iron spikes and made to move; being split and torn apart; being bound in crooked positions (akodak-bandhan); being beaten with hundreds of sticks; being hung by the neck; being pierced on the point of a spear; being deceived with false orders — and similar torments.

The torment of "false orders" (āesapavaṃcaṇā) is particularly striking: the Yamaduta pretend to offer relief, and the hell-being rushes toward it — only to find a new form of agony. The Vivechan states this as among the cruellest aspects of hell-suffering: not because of physical pain, but because of the psychological torment of hope repeatedly destroyed. The Vivechan states clearly: all of this is the direct consequence of the violent karma accumulated in previous lives. The scales are precisely balanced — what was done to others becomes what is experienced by the self.

The simple version: In hell, beings are cooked, beaten, squeezed, impaled, hung, and deceived — over and over, without end. Every torment is the exact fruit of the violence they previously committed.

एवं ते पुव्वकम्मयसंचयोवत्ता णिरयगिगमहग्गिसंपलित्ता गाढदुक्खं महब्भयं कक्कसं असायं सारीरं माणसं य तिव्वं दुविहं वेयंति वेयणं पावकम्मकारी बहूणि पलिओवम-सागरोवमाणि कलुणं पालेंति ते अहाउयं जमकाइयतासिया य ।

In this way, those sinful beings — overwhelmed by the accumulation of their previous karma, burning in the great fire of hell — experience two kinds of intense suffering: physical and mental; bitter, sorrowful, harsh, and severe. These sinful-deed-doers endure this pitifully for many palyopam and sagaropam units of time — for the full duration of their lifespan — tormented by the Yamaduta, they cry out in fear.

The Vivechan makes a crucial point about the phrase "ahayaung" — the hell-being cannot die before its karmic lifespan is exhausted. There is no early release, no mercy, no shortcut. The full karmic debt must be lived through, moment by moment. A palyopam is an almost incomprehensibly vast unit of time. A sagaropam is an ocean of palyopams. This is the Jain teaching of the iron law of karma: karmic seeds, once fully planted, must be experienced to maturity. No bypass exists.

The simple version: Hell-beings suffer physically and mentally, with no relief, for almost unimaginable durations. They cannot die early — they must live every moment of their karmic sentence.

किं ते ? अवि भाव सामि भाय बप्प ताय जियवं ! मुय मे मरामि दुब्बलो वाहिपीलिओहं किं दाणिसि एवं दारुणो णिड्ढय ? मा देहि मे पहारे, उस्सासेयं मुहुत्तं मे देहि, पसायं करेह, मा रुस वीसमामि, गेविज्जं मुयह मे मरामि गाढं तण्हाइओ अहं देहि पाणीयं ।

"Great soul! Master! Brother! Father! Grandfather! Beloved one! Let me go — I am dying! I am weak, tormented by pain — why are you being so cruel? Do not strike me! Give me just a moment to breathe! Have mercy! Do not be angry — let me rest! Release this noose — I am dying! I am burning with thirst — give me water!"

This sutra is a literary and spiritual masterpiece. The actual words of the hell-being are given — and they are heartbreaking. The being asks for the most basic things: a moment's breath, a sip of water, an end to the beating. It uses the most intimate terms of human relationship — "Master! Brother! Father!" — to beg for mercy from a being that has no mercy to give. The philosophical reversal is profound: the being who once killed others without hearing their cries is now the being crying out and not being heard. The cries of the beings you harmed were real; your cries now are also real; and neither could be heard in time.

The simple version: In their agony, hell-beings plead for the smallest mercy — just a breath, just a drop of water. They call their tormentors "father," "brother" — reaching for any human connection. But there is no mercy available; karma is not subject to appeal.

हंता पिय इमं जलं विमलं सीलतं ति घेतूण य णरयपाला तिवियं तउयं सेदिति कलसेण अंजलीसु दट्टूण य तं पवेवियगोवंगा अंसुपगलंतप्पुयच्छा छिण्णा तण्हाइयम्ह कलुणाणि जंपमाणा विप्पेक्खंता दिसोदिसिं अत्ताणा असरणा अणाहा अबंधवा विपलायंति य मिया इव वेगेण भयुव्विग्गा ।

"Yes! Here is pure, cool water for you, beloved!" — saying this, the Yamaduta takes boiling-hot molten lead and pours it into the cupped palms of the hell-being. Seeing this — their limbs trembling, tears streaming — speaking pitifully, looking in all directions for escape, without self-protection, without refuge, without protector, without kinsman — they run like terrified deer, fleeing in all directions, overwhelmed by fear.

The image of the hell-being running "like a deer" is a masterful literary reversal: in the previous sutras, the deer was listed as a creature hunted by violent humans. Now the violent human has become the deer — the hunted — running in terror, finding no shelter. The Vivechan observes: "The 15 Yamaduta cause this mock-relief, and their previous-birth enemies — fellow hell-beings — also join in tormenting each other." In hell, even other sufferers are enemies. There is no solidarity, no community of compassion. This is the ultimate social consequence of a life lived in violence: the complete dissolution of the capacity for connection.

The simple version: The hell-guards offer what looks like cool water — but it turns out to be boiling metal. Having been deceived, the hell-beings run in terror like hunted deer, with no protection, no ally, no shelter. The one who hunted others has become the hunted.

घेतुणबला पलायमाणगं णिरणुकंपा मुहं विहाडेतु लोहदंडेहिं केइ जमकाइया हसंता — रिसिय-भणिय-कुविय-उक्कुइय-णिरयपाल तज्जियं, गिण्हक्कम पहर छिंद भेद उक्खणाहि कत्तहि विकत्तहि य भंज हण विहण । किं ण जंपसि ? सराहि पावकम्माइं दुक्कयाइं ।

Grabbing forcibly the one trying to flee — mercilessly, laughing — the Yamaduta use iron clubs: "Grab! Strike! Cut! Split! Tear! Chop! Break! Kill! Beat! Why don't you speak? Remember your evil deeds!" In this way — with lamentation, pitiable crying, abundant weeping, wailing — like a great city on fire, the sound of hell rises always; it reaches those newly arriving, so that they hear it before their own suffering has even begun.

The Vivechan emphasizes three points: (1) The Yamaduta are instruments of karma, not independent agents — their violence is karma operating through the structure of hell. (2) The memory of past evil deeds is forced upon the hell-being — "Remember your evil deeds!" — as specific psychological torment: shame and regret added to physical agony. (3) The sound of hell is so vast that new arrivals hear it before their own suffering has begun. They enter knowing what awaits them. This description exists not for entertainment but as a mirror: see clearly what violence costs.

The simple version: In hell, the Yamaduta chase the fleeing beings, laugh as they beat them, and shout at them to remember their evil deeds. The sound — screaming, weeping, wailing — is like a great city on fire. Even those just arriving can already hear it.

किं ते ? असिवण-दब्भवण-जंतपत्थर-सुहतलक्खार-वावि-कलकलंत-वेयरिण-कलंबवालुया-जिलयगुहिरुंभण-उसिणोसिण-कंटइल्ल-दुग्गम-रहजोयण-तत्तलोहमग्गमाण-वाहणाणि ।

What are the means of torment? Forests of sword-blade trees (Asi-vana), forests of sharp Darbha-blade grass, stone-machine presses, pools filled with caustic alkali solution, the Vaitarni river (flowing with blood and scalding metal), pools of burning sand, being sealed into burning caves, extremely hot and thorny rough terrain, roads of ten yojanas length of red-hot iron — and being made to carry heavy loads on such roads.

The Asi-vana (sword-leaf forest) and the Vaitarni river are among the most famous images in Indian religious literature across traditions. The Jain version describes them with the precision of its philosophical system: these are not symbolic but karmic realities — the physical environment created by accumulated inauspicious karma. The road of red-hot iron is a particularly vivid image — ten yojanas of walking on burning metal while carrying a heavy load. The being cannot stop, cannot die, must continue. The landscape of hell is not imposed from outside; it is the materialization of accumulated violence.

The simple version: Hell's landscape itself is designed for suffering: forests of sword-leaves, scalding rivers, burning sand, caves of heat, thorny paths, and roads of red-hot iron on which beings must carry heavy loads — with no end.

मुग्गर-मुसुंढि-करकय-सत्ति-मूसल-चक्क-कोंत-तोमर-सूल-लउड-पट्टिस-असि-खेडग-खग्ग-चाव-णाराय-कणग-किप्पिण-वासि-परसु-टंक वेउव्विएहिं पहरणसएहिं अणुबद्धित्ववेरा परोप्परवेयणं उदीरेंति अभिहणंता ।

The mace, iron pestle, spiked weapon, spear, pestle, discus, pointed javelin, throwing javelin, trident, wooden club, sword, shield, crossbow, iron arrow, axe, chisel — and other inauspicious vaikriya weapons numbering in the hundreds — with these, filled with intense mutual enmity from previous lives, the hell-beings torment each other, striking one another; their bodies pulverized, limbs torn apart, rolling on the ground with mangled limbs.

The Vivechan makes an essential philosophical point: these weapons are not physical objects brought from somewhere — they are created by the vaikriya power of consciousness. Hell is literally made of consciousness. The weapons hell-beings use against each other are projections of their own accumulated violence. The violence you projected into the world becomes the environment in which you live after death. Hell is not imposed from outside — it is a projection of the accumulated violence within. The weapons the hell-beings suffer from are their own weapons, returned.

The simple version: Hell-beings attack each other with every weapon imaginable — all created from their own violent consciousness. The violence they projected into the world has become the world they inhabit.

तत्थ य विग-सुणग-सियाल-काक-मज्जार-दीविय-वियग्घ-सद्दूल-सीह-दप्पिय खुहाभिभूएहिं दढदाढागाढ-डक्क-किड्डिय फालिय-विच्छिप्पंते समंतओ— कंक-कुरर-गिद्ध-कट्टवायसगणेहिं य लोहतुंडेहिं ओवइत्ता विक्कण्ण-जिब्भंछिय-णयणणिद्धओलुग्गविगय-वयणा उक्कोसंता य उप्पयंता णिणपयंता भमंता ।

There, the wolf, jackal, crow, cat, leopard, tiger, lion — pride-driven, perpetually filled with hunger, terrible in form — bite deeply with strong teeth, tear apart limbs, throw pieces in all directions; and then again the eagle, osprey, vulture — with iron-like beaks — swooping down, tearing out ears, pulling tongues, clawing out eyes — making the hell-beings cry out, leap up, fall back down, spin in circles.

The crucial philosophical point: these animals do not actually exist in hell as physical creatures. Hell is a realm without physical organisms. These are vaikriya manifestations — the Yamaduta create them from their own vaikriya power, taking on the forms of the most terrifying predators in the hell-being's memory, amplified to cosmic intensity. There is no "other" inflicting hell — there is only karma, operating with perfect consistency. The hell-being is attacked by the forms that its own violence created. The final image — crying out, leaping, falling, spinning in circles — is complete disorientation: no solid ground, no steady place to stand, no orientation. This is the ultimate karmic consequence of a life without the stability of ahimsa.

The simple version: In hell, vaikriya animals — created from violent consciousness itself — tear apart the hell-beings continuously. These are not real animals — they are projections of the violence the being itself committed, now experienced from the inside.

पुव्वकम्मोदयोवगया, पच्छाणुतावेणं डज्झमाणा णिंदंता पुरेकडाइं कम्माइं पावगाइं, तओ य आउक्खएणं उव्विट्टिया समाणा बहवे गच्छंति तिरिय वसिहं दुक्खुत्तरं सुदारुणं जम्मण-मरण-जरावाहि-परियट्टणारहट्टुं जल-थल-खहयर-परोप्पर-विहिंसण-पवंचं ।

Subject to the ripening of previous karma, burning with regret of actions done before, blaming the evil deeds done in the past — having experienced deeply embedded suffering — then, when the lifespan is exhausted, those beings who emerge from hell go in large numbers to animal births, which are even greater in suffering — a waterwheel of birth, death, disease, and decay — a network of mutual violence among aquatic, land-dwelling, and aerial beings.

The waterwheel (ārāhaṭṭu) metaphor is one of the most powerful in the Jain tradition. A waterwheel continuously draws water up and pours it down, endlessly, mechanically, without pause. The cycle of birth-death-disease-decay in animal existence is exactly like this: continuous, mechanical, without pause, without agency, without the possibility of stepping aside. The Vivechan provides the philosophical mechanism: intense passion generates karma with a binding-period that exceeds the hell-lifespan. When the hell-life ends, remaining karma places the being in an animal body — which continues to accumulate more violence-karma, because animals cannot help but commit violence to survive. The cycle deepens.

The simple version: When the hell-life ends, the being is reborn as an animal — and in animal life, the cycle of violence continues: birth, suffering, killing, being killed, death, rebirth. It is like a waterwheel, endlessly turning.

किं ते ? सीउण्ह-तण्हा-खुह-वेयण-अप्पईकार-अडवि-जम्मणिच्च-भउव्विग्ग-वास-जग्गण-वह-बंधण-ताडण-अंकण-णिवायण-अट्टिभंजण-णासाभेयप्पहार-दूमण-छविच्छेयण-अभिओग-पावण-कसंकुसारिणवाय-दमणाणि-वाहणाणि य । मायापिइ-विप्पओग-सोय-परिपीलणाणि य सत्थिग-विसाभिघाय-गलगवलावलण-मारणाणि य गलजालुच्छिप्पणाणि य... एयं ते दुक्खसयसंपलित्ता णरगाओ आगया ।

What are the sufferings in animal birth? Cold and heat; thirst and hunger; pain without remedy; living in the wild; perpetual fear; captivity; being kept awake; beaten; bound; branded; crushed; bones broken; nose-pierced; skinned; forced to labor; pierced with goads and spurs. Separation from mother and father; grief; killed by weapons and poison; caught by the throat; strangled; life-long captivity; enclosed in cages; driven in herds and slaughtered; milked; yoked; penned; immersed in mud-water; leg-broken; trapped in nets; burned in field-fires.

This sutra is one of the most compassionate passages in the chapter — if one reads it not only as a description of hell but as a description of the lives of domestic animals today. Every suffering listed here is experienced by farm animals, working animals, and wild animals right now. The Jain tradition recognized, 2,500 years ago, that the condition of domestic animals is a form of suffering no different in kind from hell — the difference is duration, not nature. The final sentence is philosophically decisive: these sufferings are the fruit of karma "accumulated by heedlessness, passion, and hatred." Heedlessness (pamaya) is the first word — thoughtless, unconsidered action. Awareness is the beginning of the path.

The simple version: After hell, beings are reborn as animals. And animal life is full of its own suffering — cold, hunger, being beaten, branded, caged, separated from family, forced to work, slaughtered. These are the direct continuation of the karma accumulated through violence.

भमरमसगमच्छिमाइएसु य जाइकुलकोडिसयसहस्सेहिं णवहिं-चउरिंदियाणं तहिं तहिं चेव जम्मणमरणाणि अणुहवंता कालं संखिज्जं भमंति णेरइयसमाणतिव्व दुक्खा, फरिस-रसण-घाण-चक्खुसिहया ।

Among bees, mosquitoes, flies, and similar four-sensed beings — in nine hundred thousand lakh species — experiencing birth and death again and again — they wander for a countable period of time, enduring suffering as intense as that of hell-beings, with four senses (touch, taste, smell, sight).

The Jain tradition at its most counter-intuitive: four-sensed beings (bees, mosquitoes, flies) suffer as intensely as hell-beings. We do not experience the suffering of a bee as significant — it is so small. But the sutra declares: from within its own consciousness, the suffering is hell-quality. The scale of the body does not determine the intensity of the inner experience. The bee being killed for honey is experiencing suffering of hell-quality intensity. This is precisely why honey is not consumed in strict Jain practice — not from squeamishness but from genuine recognition of the reality of the bee's experience.

The simple version: Four-sensed beings — bees, mosquitoes, flies — are born and die millions of times in their countless species. Their suffering is as intense as hell-suffering, from within their own experience. Smallness does not mean less pain.

तहेव तेइंदिएसु कुंथु-पिप्पीलिया-अंधिकादिएसु य जाइकुलकोडिसयसहस्सेहिं अट्टहिं तेइंदियाणं तहिं तहिं चेव जम्मणमरणाणि अणुहवंता कालं संखेज्जगं भमंति णेरइयसमाण-तिव्वदुक्खा-फरिस-रसण-घाण-संपउत्ता।

Likewise, among three-sensed beings — Kunthu insects, ants, and the blind Andhika — in eight hundred thousand lakh species of three-sensed beings — experiencing birth and death again and again — they wander for a countable period of time, enduring hell-quality intense suffering, with three senses (touch, taste, smell).

Three-sensed beings — tiny insects like ants and kunthu — have only three senses. They cannot see. They cannot hear. Yet they experience suffering of hell-quality intensity through touch, taste, and smell. The inability to perceive does not mean the inability to suffer. The ant colony crushed under a foot, the tiny insects disturbed by a plow — these are real sufferers. The Jain monk's broom (rajoharana) sweeping the path before each step is not ritualistic — it is an expression of genuine compassion for three-sensed beings whose suffering, while invisible to the eye, is real to the soul within.

The simple version: Ants, tiny insects, blind insects — with no eyes, no ears — still feel suffering as intensely as hell-beings. Their invisibility to us does not make their suffering less real to them.

गंडोलय-जलूय-किमिय-चंदणगमाइएसु य जाइकुलकोडिसयसहस्सेहिं सत्तहिं बेइंदियाणं जम्मणमरणाणि अणुहवंता कालं संखेज्जगं भमंति णेरइयसमाण-तिव्वदुक्खा-फरिस-रसण-संपउत्ता ।

Among two-sensed beings — earthworm, leech, worm, sandalwood worm — in seven hundred thousand lakh species of two-sensed beings — experiencing birth and death again and again — they wander for a countable period of time, enduring hell-quality intense suffering, with two senses (touch and taste).

Two-sensed beings have only touch and taste. They experience the world as pure sensation — pressure, pain, taste. Yet their suffering is of hell-quality intensity. This understanding has profound practical implications: it is why Jain practice avoids digging the earth (which destroys earthworms), uses a water-filter for drinking (to avoid swallowing worm-beings), and traditionally avoids root vegetables (which require uprooting and contain many worm-beings). These are not arbitrary rules. They are expressions of the understanding that the being living in a two-sensed form has the same inner reality of suffering as any other being.

The simple version: Earthworms, leeches, worms — with only touch and taste — still experience suffering as intense as hell. Every worm destroyed by a plow, every earthworm cut by a spade, is a genuine suffering being.

पत्ता एगिंदियत्तं वि य पुढवि-जल-जलण-मारुय-वणफई-सुहुम-बायरं च पज्जतमपज्जतं पत्तेयसरीरणाम-साहारणं च— पत्तेयसरीरजीविएसु य तत्थिव कालमसंखेज्जगं भमंति अणंतकालं च अणंतकाए फासिंदियभावसंपउत्ता दुक्खसमुदयं इमं अणिट्टुं पाविंति पुणो पुणो ।

Reaching even the state of one-sensed beings — earth, water, fire, air, and plant — fine-bodied and coarse-bodied; fully developed and underdeveloped; individual-bodied and common-bodied — in individual-bodied beings they wander for an uncountable period of time (asamkhyata kala); and for infinite time (ananta kala) in the infinite common-bodied ones — with touch as their one sense — they experience again and again this unbearable mass of suffering, in those very births.

This sutra reaches the bottom of the descent — one-sensed beings. Of the two types, the common-bodied beings (like trees that house countless souls) wander for ananta — infinite time. Infinite time in a single-sensed body. This is the Jain tradition's most severe statement about the consequences of violence-karma: a being that accumulates sufficient violence-karma may spend literally infinite time as a one-sensed being — earth, water, fire, air, or plant — experiencing suffering through the single sense of touch, without the capacity to understand what is happening, without the capacity to act differently, without the means of escape.

The simple version: The lowest level of rebirth is as a one-sensed being — an earth particle, a water drop, a flame, an air current, a plant. A being stuck here wanders for uncountable time — possibly infinite time in plant bodies — with nothing but touch, unable to understand or escape.

कुद्दाल-कुलिय-दालण-सिलल-मलण-खुंभण-रुंभण-अणलाणिल-विविह-सत्थघटण... उक्खणण-उक्कत्थण-पयण-कुट्टण-पीसण-पिट्टण-भज्जण-गालण-आमोडण-सडण-फुडण-भंजण-छेयण-तच्छण-विलुंचण-पत्तझोडण-अगिदहणाइयाइं, एवं ते भवपरंपरा दुक्ख-समणुबद्धा अडंति संसारबीहणकरे जीवा पाणाइवायणिरया अणंतकालं ।

Being split by pickaxes and plows; being ground by stones; being crushed and compressed; being assaulted by fire and wind; being uprooted, boiled, pounded, ground, crushed, roasted, melted, pressed, dried, burst, broken, cut, peeled, plucked of leaves, burned in fire. In this way, these beings — bound to suffering across an endless succession of births — wander through the frightening samsara: beings committed to the sin of killing living beings, for infinite time.

This sutra catalogs the specific sufferings of one-sensed plant-beings — and the list is essentially a catalog of ordinary human kitchen and agricultural activity. Every act named here — uprooting, boiling, pounding, grinding, roasting — is what happens in a kitchen every day. Every cut vegetable, every boiled grain involves the suffering of plant-beings. This is not stated to induce guilt but to induce awareness. The final line gathers everything: "beings committed to the sin of killing living beings — for infinite time." The violence-karma and the suffering it generates are co-extensive with time itself.

The simple version: The suffering of one-sensed beings covers every ordinary human activity — cooking, farming, building. Every uprooting, every boiling, every cutting involves genuine suffering. The sinful being who commits all this without awareness wanders in samsara for infinite time.

जे वि य इह माणुसत्तणं आगया काहिं वि णरगा उव्विट्टिया अधण्णा, ते वि य दीसंति पायसो विकयगिलरुवा खुज्जा वडभा य वामणा बिहरा काणा कुंटा पंगुला विगला य मूका य मम्मणा य अंधयगा एगचक्खू वाहिरोगपीलिय-अप्पाउय-सत्थवज्झबाला कुरूवा किविणा य हीणा णिच्चं सोखपरिवज्जिया असुहदुक्खभागी ।

And even those who have arrived at human existence from various hells — the inauspicious ones — appear for the most part as deformed and imperfect: hunchbacked, dwarfed, deaf, one-eyed, crippled, lame, incomplete-limbed, mute, stammerers, blind, suffering from disease, of short life, ugly, poor, inferior, of low vitality, perpetually deprived of happiness, partakers of inauspicious suffering — those who have emerged from hell with remaining karma. In this way, sinful-deed-doers wandering through hell and animal birth attain infinite suffering.

The Jain tradition is not saying that all people with disabilities committed violence in a past life — the karmic picture is enormously complex, and the text describes specifically beings who emerge with heavy remaining karma. The correct response to seeing a being in suffering is compassion: this is a being enduring the fruits of its own past. The Vivechan adds: not every being who emerges from hell into human existence is in this condition — some, whose karma has largely exhausted itself, emerge into honorable circumstances. The sutra ends with the summary statement of the consequence section: beings who wander through hell and animal birth accumulate infinite suffering.

The simple version: Even when beings finally reach human birth after hell, many arrive deformed, sick, poor, and miserable — still carrying the weight of remaining karma. The correct response is compassion, not condemnation.

एसो सो पाणवहस्स फलविवागो । इहलोइओ परलोइओ अप्पसुहो बहुदुक्खो महब्भयो बहुरयप्पगाढो दारुणो कक्कसो असाओ वाससहस्सेहिं मुंचइ, ण य अवेदियत्ता अत्थि हु मोक्खो ति, एवमाहंसु णायकुलणंदणो महप्पा जिणो वीरवरणामधेज्जो, कहेसी य पाणवहस्स फलविवागं । एसो सो पाणवहो चंडो रुद्धो खुद्दो अणारिओ णिग्घिणो णिसंसो महब्भओ... मरणवेमणस्सो । ति बेमि ॥ ॥ पढमं अहम्मदारं समत्तं ॥

This is the fruit of the killing of living beings. In this world and the next — it brings little happiness and much suffering; great fear; deeply saturated with karmic matter; dreadful; harsh; without relief — from this, one is freed only after thousands of years; and there is no liberation without experiencing it. Thus spoke the great soul — the Jina of noble lineage of the Jnatri clan, bearing the supreme name "Vira" — declaring the fruit of the killing of living beings. This killing is: fierce, terrible, base, ignoble, merciless, cruel, a cause of great fear, terrifying, horrifying — the cause of the bitterness of death. Thus I say. ॥ The First Gate of Evil is concluded. ॥

The closing sutra distills the entire chapter into a single paragraph. The most important philosophical statement: "there is no liberation without experiencing the karma" — na ya avediyatta atthi hu mokkho. The Jain tradition does not offer forgiveness in the sense of cancellation. Karma must be experienced. But the experience of karma, in the right conditions — with awareness, in a being practicing non-violence — is itself the purification of the soul. The attribution is explicit: this teaching came from Mahavir — the Jina of the Jnatri clan, bearing the supreme name "Vira." Sudharmashvami transmits what he received directly from Mahavir. "Iti bemi" — Thus I say — is both a factual statement and a spiritual seal: "I stake my spiritual standing on the authenticity of this transmission."

The simple version: The chapter ends by naming what violence ultimately costs: little happiness now, enormous suffering across thousands of years, and no escape until the full karma is lived through. This teaching came directly from Mahavir. It ends with: "Thus I say" — a solemn guarantee of its authenticity.