Mahavira — "All breathing, existing, living, sentient creatures should not be slain, nor tre…"
All breathing, existing, living, sentient creatures should not be slain, nor treated with violence, nor abused, nor tormented, nor driven away.
Get This Quote & Author's Image Illustrated On:
Click any product to generate a realistic preview. Up to 3 at a time.
* Initial load can take up to 90 seconds — revising the preview in another color is nearly instant.
Kitchen
Apparel
Other
More from Mahavira
"The self is the friend of the self, and the self is the enemy of the self."
"A man who is averse from harming even the wind knows the sorrow of all things living."
"The true nature of the soul is bliss."
"One should not be negligent even for a moment."
"A wise man should abstain from killing any living being."
About Mahavira (c. 599-527 BCE)
24th and last Tirthankara of Jainism, whose teachings of strict ahimsa (non-violence), aparigraha (non-attachment), and karma reshaped ancient Indian religion. Closely associated with The Buddha (near-contemporary moral revolutionary, also reacting against Vedic ritualism). For an intellectual contrast, see Vedic Brahmanical ritual sacrifice, the animal-sacrifice-centered Vedic religion of his era — Mahavira's ahimsa demanded total non-violence, including not eating root vegetables that kill the plant — a maximum-distance ethical move from the Vedic priestly tradition that ritually sacrificed cattle and horses. The two cleanest poles of ancient Indian religious ethics.
Verification
Unverifiable
Found in 1 providers: deepseek
1 source checked
Understanding this quote
What it means
Every living being capable of breath, sensation, or experience deserves protection from harm in all forms—killing, physical force, verbal abuse, psychological torment, or displacement. This is an absolute ethical command extending moral consideration beyond humans to all sentient life, demanding active nonviolence rather than merely avoiding obvious cruelty.
Relevance to Mahavira
Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara who systematized Jain philosophy around 600 BCE, lived as an ascetic for 12 years, carefully stepping to avoid harming insects. Ahimsa was his central teaching—he expanded it beyond prior traditions into a comprehensive doctrine covering thought, speech, and action toward every life form, forming Jainism's ethical foundation.
The era
In 6th-century BCE India, animal sacrifice was central to Vedic religious practice, and social hierarchies determined whose lives held value. Mahavira's radical egalitarianism across all species directly challenged Brahminical ritual culture. Alongside Buddha, he represented a śramaṇa countermovement rejecting sacrificial religion and asserting that liberation required harmlessness rather than priestly ceremony.
AI-generated insights based on extensive research and information for context. Factual errors? Email [email protected].