Jain: cattle and tradition
Ahimsa and the panjrapole, the Jain animal refuges that care for cattle to the end of their lives.
Jainism teaches ahimsa, non-violence toward every living being, and its care for animals is among the most thorough of any tradition. Jain communities have long funded and run panjrapoles, animal refuges where cattle and other animals are cared for until they die a natural death. The bull is the emblem of Rishabhanatha, the first tirthankara, and is carved on his images in temples across India. Most Jains are strict vegetarians, and many avoid even foods that harm insects or roots. Practice varies between sects and households.
Ahimsa and animals
Jain teaching holds that every living being has a soul and that harming any of them binds karma to one's own soul. Monks and nuns take the vow of non-violence most strictly, and lay Jains follow it as far as they can in daily life. Kindness to animals, called jivdaya, compassion for living beings, is a central religious act. Feeding birds and cattle, freeing animals from slaughter and giving to animal shelters are common forms of jivdaya.
The panjrapole
Panjrapoles, as these Jain animal refuges are called, are found mostly in Gujarat and Rajasthan, though Jain refuges exist across India. They care for old, injured, abandoned and unproductive cattle, and often for other animals too, until their natural end. Some are centuries old and very large; Ahmedabad's panjrapole is among the best known. Most are funded by Jain merchant families and community donations, and many raise extra funds during Paryushana.
Rishabhanatha's bull
Each of the twenty-four tirthankaras has an emblem, called a lanchhana, by which his images can be told apart. The emblem of Rishabhanatha, also called Adinatha, is the bull. Jain tradition holds that Rishabhanatha taught people farming, crafts and the arts of civilised life, so the bull, the animal of the plough, suits him well. His images, with a small bull carved on the pedestal, are found in temples such as those of Palitana and Ranakpur.
Dairy and diet
Most Jains have traditionally drunk milk and eaten curd and ghee, provided no animal is killed to make them. In recent years, some Jains have begun to question dairy because of how cows and calves are treated on modern farms, and a smaller number have chosen a diet without it. Panjrapoles and Jain-run gaushalas are partly a response to this, offering care to cows once they leave the dairy.
Worth knowing
- Panjrapole: Jain refuge for old and injured animals
- Ahmedabad Panjrapole: One of the oldest and best known
- Rishabhanatha: First tirthankara, whose emblem is the bull
- Jivdaya: Compassion for living beings
- Paryushana: Festival when giving to animal refuges is common
- Palitana temples: Jain temple hill with images of Rishabhanatha
Sources and further reading
Original text by the EveryCow desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Customs are described as tradition, not as advice. If we have something wrong, tell us.
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