A strict Jaina abstains from killing anything even in the Ekendriya class, but the actual vow of Ahiṁsa or Non-killing for laymen starts from the Be-indriya class. Monks vow not to kill anything in the Ekendriya class, and hence refuse to touch water, clay, a clod of earth, fire, &c. They cannot of course help breathing air, but to hurt it as little as possible they cover their mouths with a cloth. Monks never snap their fingers, or swing or fan themselves, lest they should injure air. No point in Jainism has been more misunderstood than this, even scholars[1] supposing the mouth-cloth to be worn to prevent the taking of animal life, whereas it is to prevent the taking of air life.
iv (c). Tri-indriya.In the next highest class, Tri-indriya, are placed all those beings that in addition to the sense of touch and taste have also the sense of smell, and so possess three indriya and seven prāṇa. In this class are red ants, white ants, black ants, bugs and moths. A Jaina told me that in order to please the insects of this class a devout householder when he finds vermin will often place them on one particular bedstead and then pay some poor person from four to six annas to spend the night on that bedstead! Others, however, deny this. Of course no true Jaina will kill vermin, but will carefully remove it from his body or house to some shady place outside where it can dwell in safety. They say that, far from killing vermin, they are bound to protect it, as it has been created through their lack of cleanliness. No one’s karma can force him to pass into this class of being for more than forty-nine days, or for less than an instant of time.
iv (d). Ċorendriya.Beings still higher in the scale are the Ċorendriya, those possessed of the four senses of touch, taste, smell and sight; these of course have eight prāṇa. Wasps,- ↑ Mr. W. Crooke, for instance, says (Imperial Gazetteer, vol. i, p. 416), ‘They wear a screen of cloth before their mouths, lest they should unwittingly inhale and destroy animal life.’
