Suicides in The Ramayana and The Mahabharta

“It is better to die than dishonor” – Bhagwat Geeta (2:34)

Suicide is considered a sin. In Christianity, a different graveyard is allotted for those who die by suicide. No funeral rites are performed for them.

According to Sec. 309 of IPC 1860, committing suicide is a criminal offense. When a person is caught in an attempt of committing suicide, instead of showing sympathy, that person may be sent to the imprisonment for one year.

Why it is so ..?

The most of the IPCs (Indian Penal Code) of our constitution were made in England in 1860 when India was under British rule. The British follows Christianity and the Christianity is the religion of commandments. In this way, in this religion, suicide became a sin, and in law, a crime.

But in the Hindu tradition – voluntarily, giving up mortal body is seen differently.

In the Mahabharata, old parents of the Kaurava and old mother of Pandava went to the forest.  They engulfed by a forest fire. They did not commit suicide, but they exposed to death. They refused to escape from the forest fire and willingly, they sacrificed their mortal body. They thought – death is better than carrying old and fragile body which is not incapable of doing anything significant than liability of others.

At their old age, Pandavas along with their common wife, Draupati, tried to ascend to the Himalayas where they fell to death except Yudhhisthir, and no one tried to save anyone. They did not commit suicide, but created a situation where death was inevitable. They had completed their prescribed task on this planet. They willingly had passed their kingdom to their new generation and left for the Himalayas knowingly they may die on the way.

In the Ramayana, Sita, voluntarily, submerged into the earth and sacrificed her mortal body. And consequently, Rama jumped into Saryu and finished his mortal journey of this planet. They had completed their role and part on this planet, they had already given the message to the world what they wanted to give.

Many sages and seers including Gyneshwar, who translated Bhagawat Geeta into Marathi, took Samadhi in his very early age.  Adishankryacharya who propounded Adaitya Vedanta also took Samadhi in his very early age at Kedarnath.

In Jain, giving up the mortal body by starvation is allowed – that is called – Santhara. Chandragupta Maurya, grandfather of Ashoka and the founder Maurya Empire, was the follower of Jainism who embraced death by this method. This is considered a good and auspicious way of sacrificing the mortal body in Jainism. It is the sign of great detachment from the material world after completion of the prescribed duty on this planet with the present body.

In some cases, the persons who are suffering from severe pain due to incurable physical ailments and seeking for the voluntary death, it should be granted. It would be a great relief. In some particular cases, voluntarily embracing death in some countries is legal whereas it is illegal and criminal offense in many countries irrespective of the mental and physical pain and suffering of the people.

The mind and body of the human has been given by nature for a certain period of time for some particular purpose. And the functionality of the mind and body must be used for that purpose only before it becomes fragile and stop working. The people who do not use their mind and body for their prescribed purpose and dissipate their energy on something insignificant, they either fear of death or in depression, contemplate of ending their life by suicide which is a cowardice act.

The way, the great heroes of Ramayana and Mahabharata and other sages and seers sacrificed their mortal body after accomplishing their duties, or they thought that they were old enough to do any more duties, they voluntarily embraced the death, the individual should also think in this direction.

On April 17, 1955, the greatest physicist of his time Albert Einstein’s abdominal aortic aneurysm burst, creating internal bleeding and severe pain. He went to Princeton Hospital but refused further medical attention. He demanded, “I want to go when I want. It is tasteless to prolong life artificially; I have done my share, it is time to go. I will do it elegantly.”