a translation of this play (Muhammedan Festivals, edited by
G. E. von Grunebaum, New York, 1951) Husayn says:
“Dear Grandfather [Muh:ammad], I abhor life; I would rath-
er go visit my dear ones in the next world” (p. 92). Within
Shiism, and the Isma ̄E ̄ıl ̄ı sect, H:asan-i Sabba ̄h: in the twelfth
century formed the order of the Assassins, which was devoted
to establishing its own religious and governmental autono-
my, in part by killing both Crusaders and Sunn ̄ı Muslims.
The death of a member of this order was regarded not as a
suicide, even when his mission had been one almost certain
to result in his death, but rather as a glorious martyrdom that
would earn him both the veneration of society and the de-
lights of Paradise. The tradition cites many accounts of a
mother who rejoiced on hearing of the death of her son, only
to put on mourning clothes when she learned subsequently
that he had not died and thus had not attained the glorious
state of martyrdom.
HINDUISM AND JAINISM. In discussing Judaism, Christiani-
ty, and Islam, this article has pointed to the close relationship
between suicide and martyrdom and the difficulty frequently
encountered in distinguishing between them. Regarding the
religions of the East, the difficult issue is the relation between
suicide and sacrifice. In Hinduism, the Bra ̄hman:as laid the
foundation for religiously motivated suicide by declaring
that the fullest and most genuine sacrifice is that of the indi-
vidual’s self. The S ́atapatha Bra ̄hman:a outlines the procedure
by which one renounces the world, forsaking one’s belong-
ings and departing into the forest. Certainly Hinduism af-
firms that suicide must be a thoughtful decision—as in the
resolve of a person to end the sufferings of old age—or that
it must be a religiously motivated act. One Upanis:ad con-
demns those who attempt suicide without having attained
the necessary degree of enlightenment. The Dharmasu ̄ tras
firmly prohibit any suicide other than one religiously moti-
vated. In ancient and medieval Hinduism a number of meth-
ods of committing suicide were regarded favorably, such as
drowning oneself in the Ganges, jumping from a cliff, burn-
ing oneself, burying oneself in snow, or starving oneself to
death. Various places of pilgrimage, such as Praya ̄ga (present-
day Allahabad) or Banaras, were seen as particularly auspi-
cious places for ending one’s life.
Two types of suicide in Hinduism, very different in
form and intention, are worthy of special examination. The
first is the death by suicide of the enlightened person, the
world renouncer. Such a person, in his or her quest for re-
lease from sam:sa ̄ra, has been devoted to increasingly difficult
acts of penance and to a thorough study of the Upanis:ads.
Once this person has attained the goal of freedom from all
desires, he or she may begin the great journey in the direction
of the northeast, consuming nothing other than air and
water. According to the lawgiver Manu, a brahman might
also follow this procedure when beginning to be overcome
by a serious illness.
The second form of suicide in Hinduism that deserves
special attention is sat ̄ı, widow burning. It appears to have
been a form of suicide motivated by both social and religious
considerations. Although the custom is not unique to India,
it nonetheless was practiced there most frequently and over
the longest period of time. The practice may go back as far
as the fourth century BCE, but it began to grow in popularity
only after about 400 CE. According to Upendra Thakur in
his study The History of Suicide in India, “sat ̄ı in its latest
forms was a mediaeval growth though it had its germs in an-
cient customs and rituals” (1963, p. 141). The practice of
sat ̄ı might take one of two forms. In one, sahamaran:a, the
woman ascended the funeral pyre and was burned alongside
the corpse of her husband. In the second, anumaran:a, when
the wife learned that her husband had died and his body had
already been cremated, she would ascend the pyre and die
alongside his ashes, or with some belonging of his. Certainly,
at least in some cases, sat ̄ı was motivated by genuine feelings
of grief and affection on the part of the widow. Although the
practice remained voluntary, in some areas social pressure
may have made sat ̄ı more the rule than the exception. No
doubt the practice also gained popularity because the life of
a widow was both lonely and degrading. On the other hand,
the blessing or curse of a woman on her way to perform sat ̄ı
was believed to be very powerful, and her act of sacrifice was
believed to purify both herself and her husband. Thus, al-
though the act of sat ̄ı may not always have been religiously
motivated, it did have its religious reward. The British, dur-
ing their rule of India, made a determined effort to abolish
the practice, finally outlawing it as homicide in 1829.
Perhaps the tradition that most explicitly condones reli-
giously motivated suicide is Jainism. Following the teaching
of their saint Mahavira, who lived in the sixth century BCE,
the Jain monk and the Jain layperson lead, in differing de-
grees, a rigorously ascetic life in order to attain liberation and
to free the soul from karma. Members of the laity as well as
monks are encouraged to practice sallekhana ̄ (austere pen-
ance), in order to attain a holy death through meditation.
Jains believe it is their duty to prevent disease or the infirmi-
ties of old age from undermining the spiritual progress they
have attained through asceticism and meditation. Jainism
prescribes strict rules for when sallekhana ̄ is appropriate. As
Padmanabh S. Jaini indicated in his book The Jaina Path of
Purification, Jainism distinguishes between impure suicide,
by which the passions are increased, and pure suicide, the
holy death attained with “inner peace or dispassionate mind-
fulness” (Jaini, 1979, p. 229). Sallekhana ̄ involves gradual
fasting, often under the supervision of a monastic teacher,
until the stage is reached whereat the individual no longer
consumes any food or drink and thus gradually attains death
by starvation. Jains perceive sallekhana ̄ to be the climax of
a lifetime of spiritual struggle, ascetic practice, and medita-
tion. It allows the individual to control his own destiny so
that he will attain full liberation or at the very least reduce
the number of future reincarnations that he will undergo.
BUDDHISM AND CONFUCIANISM. Turning to Buddhism and
Confucianism, one finds that suicide is legislated against in
both traditions, but that there are notable exceptions involv-SUICIDE 8831