Editing Ahimsa (section)

===Non-human life===
[[File:ValluvarStatue SanctuaryAtTiruvallur.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|The 5th-century CE Tamil scholar [[Valluvar]], in his ''[[Tirukkural]]'', taught {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} and moral vegetarianism as personal virtues. The plaque in this statue of Valluvar at an animal sanctuary at [[Tiruvallur]] describes the Kural's teachings on {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} and [[non-killing]], summing them up with the definition of [[veganism]].]]
The Hindu precept of "cause no injury" applies to [[animal]]s and all life forms. This precept is not found in the oldest verses of Vedas ({{BCE|1500–1000}}), but increasingly becomes one of the central ideas in post-Vedic period.<ref name=chapple16>{{cite book | last=Chapple | first=Christopher Key | title=Nonviolence to Animals, Earth, and Self in Asian Traditions | publisher=State University of New York Press | date=1993 | isbn=0-7914-1498-1 | pages=16–17}}</ref>{{sfn|Brown|1964}} In the oldest layer of the Vedas, such as the ''Rigveda'', ritual sacrifices of animals and cooking of meat to feed guests are mentioned. This included goat, ox, horse, and others.{{sfn|Brown|1964|pp=246–247}} However, the text is not uniform in its prescriptions. Some verses praise meat as food, while other verses in the Vedas recommend "abstention from meat", in particular, "beef".{{sfn|Brown|1964|pp=246–247}}<ref>{{cite book | last=Rosen | first=Steven | title=Holy Cow: The Hare Krishna Contribution to Vegetarianism and Animal Rights | publisher=Lantern Books | date=2004 | isbn=1-59056-066-3 | pages=19–39}}</ref> According to Marvin Harris, the Vedic literature is inconsistent, with some verses suggesting ritual slaughter and meat consumption, while others suggesting a taboo on meat-eating.<ref>{{cite book |first=Marvin|last=Harris| editor-last=Whitten | editor-first=Phillip | editor-last2=Hunter | editor-first2=David E. | title=Anthropology: contemporary perspectives|edition=6th | publisher=Addison-Wesley Longman | date=1990 | isbn=0-673-52074-9 | pages=201–204 |url=http://academic.regis.edu/rlumpp/PDF%20files/RT%20201%20India%27s%20Sacred%20Cow.pdf|chapter= India's sacred cow|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329091317/http://academic.regis.edu/rlumpp/PDF |archive-date=29 March 2017 }}</ref>

Hindu texts dated to {{BCE|1st millennium}} initially mention meat as food, then evolve to suggest that only meat obtained through ritual sacrifice can be eaten, thereafter evolving to the stance that one should eat no meat because it hurts animals, with verses describing the noble life as one that lives on flowers, roots, and fruits alone.<ref name=chapple16/><ref>[[Baudhayana]] Dharmasutra 2.4.7; 2.6.2; 2.11.15; 2.12.8; 3.1.13; 3.3.6; [[Apastamba]] Dharmasutra 1.17.15; 1.17.19; 2.17.26–2.18.3; Vasistha Dharmasutra 14.12.</ref> The late Vedic-era literature ({{BCE|pre-500}}) condemns all killings of men, cattle, birds, and horses, and prays to god [[Agni]] to punish those who kill.<ref>{{citation |last=Krishna |first=Nanditha |title=Sacred Animals of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DF_af8_547EC&pg=PT107 |date=2010 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-81-8475-182-6 |pages=15, 33}}</ref>

Later texts of Hinduism declare {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} as one of the primary virtues, declare any killing or harming any life as against {{transliteration|sa|dharma}} (moral life). Finally, the discussion in the Upanishads and Hindu Epics<ref>Manu Smriti 5.30, 5.32, 5.39 and 5.44; Mahabharata 3.199 (3.207), 3.199.5 (3.207.5), 3.199.19–29 (3.207.19), 3.199.23–24 (3.207.23–24), 13.116.15–18, 14.28; Ramayana 1-2-8:19</ref> shifts to whether a human being can ever live his or her life without harming animal and plant life in some way, which and when plants or animal meat may be eaten, whether violence against animals causes human beings to become less compassionate, and if and how one may exert least harm to non-human life consistent with {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}}, given the constraints of life and human needs.<ref>Alsdorf pp. 592–593; Mahabharata 13.115.59–60, 13.116.15–18.</ref> The [[Mahabharata]] permits hunting by warriors, but opposes it in the case of hermits who must be strictly non-violent. [[Sushruta Samhita]], a Hindu text written in {{BCE|the 3rd or 4th century}}, in Chapter XLVI suggests proper diet as a means of treating certain illnesses, and recommends various fishes and meats for different ailments and for pregnant women,<ref>{{cite book |author=Kaviraj Kunja Lal Bhishagratna |year=1907|title=An English Translation of the Sushruta Samhita; see Chapter starting on page 469; for discussion on meats and fishes, see page 480 and onwards |volume=I.2 }}</ref><ref>Sutrasthana 46.89; Sharirasthana 3.25.</ref> and the [[Charaka Samhita]] describes meat as superior to all other kinds of food for convalescents.<ref>Sutrasthana 27.87.</ref>

Across the texts of Hinduism, there is a profusion of ideas about the virtue of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} when applied to non-human life, but without a universal consensus.<ref>Mahabharata 3.199.11–12 (3.199 is 3.207 elsewhere); 13.115; 13.116.26; 13.148.17; Bhagavata Purana (11.5.13–14), and the Chandogya Upanishad (8.15.1).</ref> Alsdorf claims the debate and disagreements between supporters of [[Vegetarianism|vegetarian]] lifestyle and meat eaters was significant. Even suggested exceptions – ritual slaughter and hunting – were challenged by advocates of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}}.<ref>Alsdorf pp. 572–577 (for the Manusmṛti) and pp. 585–597 (for the Mahabharata); {{harvnb|Tähtinen|1976|pp=34–36}}</ref><ref>The Mahabharata and the Manusmṛti (5.27–55) contain lengthy discussions about the legitimacy of ritual slaughter.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12b095.htm |url-status=live |title=Mahabharata 12.260—(12.260 is 12.268 according to another count) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070910073935/http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12b095.htm |archive-date=10 September 2007 }}; 13.115–116; 14.28.</ref> In the Mahabharata both sides present various arguments to substantiate their viewpoints. Moreover, a hunter defends his profession in a long discourse.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03207.htm |url-status=live |title=Mahabharata 3.199 —(3.199 is 3.207 according to another count) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929130620/http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03207.htm |archive-date=29 September 2007}}</ref>

Many of the arguments proposed in favor of non-violence to animals refer to the bliss one feels, the rewards it entails before or after death, the danger and harm it prevents, as well as to the karmic consequences of violence.{{sfn|Tähtinen|1964|pp=39–43}}<ref>Alsdorf p. 589–590</ref>{{sfn|Schmidt|1968|pp=634–635, 640–643}}

The ancient Hindu texts discuss {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} and non-animal life. They discourage wanton destruction of nature including of wild and cultivated plants. Hermits ([[sannyasa|sannyasins]]) were urged to live on a [[fruitarian]] diet so as to avoid the destruction of plants.{{sfn|Schmidt|1968|pp=637–639}}<ref>Manusmriti 10.63, 11.145</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Preece | first=Rod |author-link=Rod Preece| title=Animals and Nature: Cultural Myths, Cultural Realities | publisher=University of British Columbia Press | date=2005 | isbn=978-0-7748-0725-8 | pages=212–217}}</ref> Scholars{{r|CCEN}}<ref>{{cite journal | last=Horn | first=Gavin Van | title=Hindu Traditions and Nature: Survey Article | journal=Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture, and Ecology | publisher=Brill | volume=10 | issue=1 | year=2006 | jstor=43809321 | pages=5–39| doi=10.1163/156853506776114474 }}</ref> claim the principles of ecological nonviolence are innate in the Hindu tradition, and its conceptual fountain has been {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} as its cardinal virtue.

The classical literature of the Indian religions, such as Hinduism and Jainism, exists in many Indian languages. For example, the ''[[Tirukkural]],'' written in three volumes, likely between {{CE|450 and 500}}, dedicates verses 251–260 and 321–333 of its [[Aram (Kural book)|first volume]] to the virtue of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}}, emphasizing on [[moral vegetarianism]] and [[non-killing]] ({{transliteration|sa|kollamai}}).<ref>{{cite book|author=Kamil Zvelebil|title=The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=degUAAAAIAAJ|year=1973|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=90-04-03591-5|pages=156–157}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Krishna | first = Nanditha | title = Hinduism and Nature | publisher = Penguin Random House | series = | volume = | edition = | date = 2017 | location = New Delhi | page = 264 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=gp1IDwAAQBAJ&dq=ahimsa+and+Tirukkural&pg=PT131 | doi = | id = | isbn = 978-93-8732-654-5}}</ref> However, the ''Tirukkural'' also glorifies soldiers and their valour during war, and states that it is king's duty to punish criminals and implement "death sentence for the wicked".<ref name=Ananthanathan315>{{cite journal|title= Theory and Functions of the State The Concept of aṟam (virtue) in Tirukkural| author= A.K. Ananthanathan| journal= East and West| volume=44 | pages= 315–326| number= 2/4 |year=1994 |jstor= 29757156}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Paul Robinson|title=Just War in Comparative Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I2lBDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT169 |year=2017|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-351-92452-8|pages=169–170}}</ref>

In 1960, [[H. Jay Dinshah]] founded the [[American Vegan Society]] (AVS), linking veganism to the concept of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}}.<ref name=AVS50>{{Cite magazine|last=Dinshah|first=Freya|year=2010|title=American Vegan Society: 50 Years|url=http://www.americanvegan.org/AV1001.pdf|magazine=American Vegan|series=2|publisher=[[American Vegan Society]]|location=Vineland, NJ|volume=10|issue=1 (Summer 2010)|page=31|issn=1536-3767|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722213651/http://www.americanvegan.org/AV1001.pdf|archive-date=22 July 2011|access-date=14 March 2018}}</ref><ref>Stepaniak 2000, [https://books.google.com/books?id=6Ia5eZIlgLUC&pg=PA6 6–7]; Preece 2008, [https://books.google.com/books?id=uMnubkF5HjAC&pg=PA323 323].</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.americanvegan.org/history.htm|title=History|publisher=American Vegan Society|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140827105211/http://www.americanvegan.org/history.htm|archive-date=27 August 2014|access-date=14 March 2018}}</ref>