Question map
Assertion (A) : The emphasis of Jainism on non-violence (ahimsa) prevented agriculturalists from embracing Jainism. Reason (R) : Cultivation involved killing of insects and pests.
Explanation
Jainism’s central vow of ahimsa was practised with extreme care: monks took measures to avoid harming even tiny creatures (covering mouth, sweeping paths) which demonstrates the religion’s strict prohibition against injuring living beings [1]. Textual accounts explain that because cultivation inevitably involved killing or injuring insects, pests and other life-forms, Jains avoided agricultural occupations and gravitated towards trading and money‑lending instead [2]. Popular explanations likewise note that farmers found it difficult to observe Jain rules since protecting crops requires killing pests, directly conflicting with ahimsa . Therefore both A and R are true, and R correctly explains why agriculturalists were deterred from embracing Jainism.
Sources
- [1] History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 3: Rise of Territorial Kingdoms and New Religious Sects > Non-Violence > p. 40
- [2] History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 3: Rise of Territorial Kingdoms and New Religious Sects > Life of Mahavira > p. 39