Abhakshya means “not to be eaten”. The Shvetambara texts count 22 such foods, and a householder who takes the vow renounces them for life. Pick a food from the list and the tool tells you whether it is one of the 22, which of them it falls under, the reason the tradition gives, what the Digambara text we follow says, and the source. For the seasonal rules, such as mangoes after the Sun enters Ardra or leafy greens in the eight months, it gives this year’s dates for your city.
How it works
The list of 22. We follow Nemicandra’s list as the journal Sramana (vol. 59, no. 1, 2008, p. 104) sets it out: the five udumbara fruits (1 to 5); the four mahavigai, meat, alcohol, honey and butter (6 to 9); ice and snow (10); poison (11); hail (12); earth and clay (13); food eaten at night (14); fruit with many seeds (15); the anantkay (16); raw pickle (17); raw curd with pulses, gholvada or dwidal (18); brinjal (19); unknown fruit and flowers (20); fruit with little to eat (21); and food whose taste has turned, chalita rasa (22). The examples and reasons come from Acharya Bhuvanbhanusuri’s Handbook of Jainology and Natubhai Shah’s Jainism: The World of Conquerors.
Named, or by the rule. A food is marked “named” when one of these sources names it. Where a food is not named but plainly belongs to a group, beetroot among the roots for example, the tool says it is abhakshya “by the rule” and shows the group, so you can see the reasoning and take it to your sangh.
Seasonal rules. Some foods are not among the 22 but are kept out at certain times of year, and the tool works out the dates:
- Mango and rayan are not eaten once the Sun enters Ardra nakshatra (Essence of Jainism, p. 50; the Handbook; Shah). The tool finds that moment from the Sun’s sidereal position (Lahiri). Checked against the Swiss Ephemeris for every year from 1900 to 2074, it agreed to within 12 minutes; when the moment falls close to midnight the tool says so, because calendars can then name either day.
- Leafy greens, dates and dry fruit are not eaten for eight months, Phalguna Shukla 14 to Kartika Shukla 15 (Essence of Jainism, p. 50).
- Sesame is not eaten in summer and the monsoon, and dry fruit and raw sugar in the monsoon (Handbook, p. 125).
The months are counted by the tithi at your city’s sunrise, the way our Jain tithi tool counts them. We checked the days that start and end each season against an independent calculation with the Swiss Ephemeris for eight test places and eight years between 1900 and 2074: all 256 agreed.
Reading the result
The first line gives the verdict for the food. The cards then show:
- Shvetambara list: abhakshya, not abhakshya, depends, seasonal or advised against, with the number in the list of 22.
- Digambara text: whether the Traivarnikachara of Somasena names the food in its verses on the householder’s food (chapter 10, verses 102 to 105).
- This season or Sun enters Ardra, for the seasonal foods, with this year’s dates.
Below them come the reason, any note on how the food is made or kept, and the sources that name it. Choose “All 22 abhakshya” to see the whole list as a table.
Where traditions differ
The list of 22 is Shvetambara. Lists differ a little from author to author: Sramana notes that Hemacandra gives 16 items where Nemicandra and Ashadhara give 22, and N. L. Jain, in Scientific Contents in Prakrta Canons, observes that each list adds or drops something while keeping the number.
The Digambara text we follow, the Traivarnikachara of Bhattaraka Somasena, asks the householder to give up honey, meat and alcohol (verse 102); radish, fresh ginger, butter, neem flowers and ketaki flowers, as foods of little gain and much harm (verse 103, whose Hindi gloss adds carrot); the five udumbara fruits (verse 104); and fruit that holds moving beings (verse 105). Where a food is not named in those verses, the tool says so rather than guessing: ask your sangh.
The seasonal rules come from Shvetambara Murtipujak handbooks, and the two we cite differ on dry fruit: Essence of Jainism gives eight months, the Handbook the monsoon. The tool shows the longer span and names both.
What it does not do
It is not a list of every food, and a food missing from it is not thereby allowed. It does not judge packaged food: Shah’s advice is to read the label for animal products. It does not give health or diet advice; if you have a health condition or are pregnant, ask your doctor before changing what you eat. A vow is taken with your own sangh, and where your teacher reads a rule differently, follow your teacher. For how long a food stays acceptable once made, see the kaal maryada calculator, and for the parva days of green vegetables, the lilotri check.
Frequently asked questions
↳ What are the 22 abhakshya?
The five udumbara fruits, the four mahavigai (meat, alcohol, honey, butter), ice and snow, poison, hail, earth and clay, food eaten at night, fruit with many seeds, the anantkay, raw pickle, raw curd with pulses, brinjal, unknown fruit and flowers, fruit with little to eat, and food whose taste has turned. That is Nemicandra's list as Sramana (2008) gives it.
↳ Why are potatoes, onions and garlic not eaten?
They are anantkay: the tradition holds that countless lives share one body in such plants, so pulling up a root ends them all. The Handbook of Jainology and Natubhai Shah both name potato, onion, garlic and carrot, and the list of 32 anantkay adds more roots and tubers, fresh ginger, fresh turmeric and sprouts.
↳ Is butter abhakshya but ghee allowed?
In the Shvetambara list, yes: butter is one of the four mahavigai, while ghee is part of the ordinary Jain diet that Shah describes. The Traivarnikachara also names butter among the foods of little gain and much harm.
↳ What is dwidal?
Pulses, or their flour, eaten with curd, buttermilk or milk that has not been heated. The Handbook names curd with pulses that is not heated, and Shah says milk products should be heated before they meet pulses. Groundnut is not a pulse, the Handbook adds, because oil can be pressed from it.
↳ When do Jains stop eating mangoes?
When the Sun enters Ardra nakshatra. By Indian time that falls on 21, 22 or 23 June in every year from 1900 to 2074, in our calculation. Pick mango in the tool to see the date and the approximate time for your city and year.
↳ Do Digambara Jains follow the same 22?
The count of 22 is Shvetambara. The Digambara text we follow names honey, meat, alcohol, the five udumbara fruits, butter, radish, fresh ginger and some flowers. The lists are not identical, so the tool shows the Digambara verse separately for each food.
Sources. The 22 abhakshya: Sramana vol. 59 no. 1 (Parshvanath Vidyapith, January to March 2008), p. 104, giving the lists of Nemicandra, Hemacandra and Ashadhara. Examples and reasons: Acharya Bhuvanbhanusuri, Handbook of Jainology (Divya Darshan Trust), chapter 23, pp. 124 to 126; Natubhai Shah, Jainism: The World of Conquerors, chapter 6.5, pp. 321 to 325. Seasonal rules: Muni Kushalchandravijay, Essence of Jainism part 1 (108 Jain Tirth Darshan Trust), pp. 49 and 50, and the Handbook, p. 125. Differences between lists: N. L. Jain, Scientific Contents in Prakrta Canons (Parshwanath Vidyapith), pp. 515 and 516. Digambara: Traivarnikachara of Bhattaraka Somasena, chapter 10, verses 102 to 105. Corrections are seva: tell us.