Jainism has assigned the first position to the vow of Ahimsa among the five main vows prescribed for continuous observance by its followers. It is, therefore, necessary to see and understand the various aspects and implications of the Jaina vow of Ahimsa.

Ahimsa Mahavrata :
Ahimsa means avoidance of Himsa, has been treated as the first of the five
Mahavratas, or the great vows, prescribed by Jain religion and this Ahimsa
Mahavrata has been defined in `Ratnakaranda-sravakachara' in following terms :-

That is, "abstaining from the commission of five sins, himsa and the rest in
their three forms, krita, karita and anumodana, with the mind, speech and the
body constitutes the Maha-vrata of great ascetics. " It means that the Ahimsa Mahavrata involves the avoidance of Himsa-, i.e., injury to sentient beings in every possible manner. The Himsa can be committed by three kinds of Yoga, i.e., modes or means viz., of mind, speech and body. In other words, injurious activity can be committed mentally, i.e., by mind, in thought, orally, i.e., by speech, and physically, i.e., by body, by action. In addition to these three Yogas, Himsa can be committed by three kinds of Karana, or, action, as., Krita, i.e., by doing it oneself, Karita, i.e., by getting it done through others, and Anumata or anumodana, i.e., by giving consent to others doing it. Further, by the combination of these Yogas and Karanas it is clear that Himsa can be committed in 9 ways, i.e., by the application of 3 Karanas to each of the 3 Yogas. Thus, the Ahimsa can be observed in full in the following 9 ways :

(i) Mentally not to do injury oneself,

(ii) Mentally not to get injury done by others,

(iii) Mentally not to approve injury done by others,

(iv) Orally not to do injury oneself,

(v) Orally not to get injury done by others,

(vi) Orally not to approve injury done by others,

(vii) Physically not to do injury oneself,

(viii) Physically not to get injury done by others, and

(ix) Physically not to approve injury done by others.

Obviously, in the Ahimsa Mahavrata, the Ahimsa is observed in a complete or full
manner, i.e., in the above nine ways. Since this Ahimsa Mahavrata is extremely difficult to practice, it is prescribed for the observance by the persons in the ascetic order.

Ahimsa-Anuvrata :
Taking into account the extreme severity involved in the observance of Ahimsa Mahavrata, the Jaina scriptures have prescribed the vow of Ahimsa with less degree of intensity for the observance by the householders and called it as Ahimsa Anuvrata. The authoritative sacred book `Ratnakarandas-stravakachara' has defined Ahimsa Anuvrata in following terms:

"Refraining from injuring living beings, having two or more senses, with a deliberate act of the mind, speech or body, in any of the three ways, krita, karita and mananat, is called Ahimsa Anu-vrata by the wise."

Thus, in Ahimsa Anuvrata, a layman does not intentionally injure any form of life above the class of one-sensed beings (vegetables and the like), by an act of the mind, speech or body by krita, i.e., by himself, by karita, i.e. by inciting others to commit such an act, nor by mananat or anumodana i.e., by approving of it subsequent to its commission by others.

Meditations for Ahimsa-vrata:
With a view to strengthening the feelings of a person in relation to the observance of the Ahimsa-vrata, it has been laid down in "Tattvartha-sutra" that a person should try to practice the following five Bhavanas, i.e., Meditations:
Vag-gupti, i.e., preservation of speech,
Mano- gupti, i.e., preservation of mind,
Irya, i.e., care in walking,
Adana-nikshepana-samiti, i.e., care in lifting and laying down things and Alokitapana- bhojana, i.e., care in taking meals by thoroughly seeing to one's food and drink. Obviously these Bhavanas or meditations encourage cautiousness in the actual observance of Ahimsa-vrata.

Transgressions of Ahimsa--vrata:
In addition to inculcating the above Bhavanas or meditations, a person is also advised to avoid the following five aticharas, i.e., defects or partial transgressions of Ahimsa-vrata:

1. Bandha, i.e., keeping in captivity (angrily or carelessly animals or human beings),
2. Vadha, i.e., beating (angrily or carelessly animals or human beings),
3. Chheda, i.e., mutilating (angrily or carelessly animals or human beings),
4. Ati-bharairopana, i.e., overloading (angrily or carelessly animals or human beings),
5. Annapana-nirodha, i.e., withholding food or drink (from animals and human beings angrily and carelessly).

Naturally the avoidance of these Five aticharas, i.e., transgressions, would enable a person to practice ahimsavarata without committing many faults.

Renunciation of Drinking Liquor:
For the observance of Ahimsa-Vrata it has been specifically laid down that a person should renounce drinking vine because, according to the sacred text of Purushartha siddhiupaya,: that is, "wine stupefies the mind, one whose mind is stupefied forgets piety; and the person- who forgets piety commits Himsa without hesitation." Again, it is impressed that drinking liquor leads to the commitment of Himsa because wine is the repository of many lives which are generated in it. Similarly, it is brought home that many base passions like pride, fear, disgust, ridicule, grief, ennui, sex-passion, and anger arise due to drinking liquor and that these passions are nothing but the different aspects of Himsa.

Rejection of Eating Animal Food:
The observance of Ahimsa-vrata invariably means the total rejection of the practice of meat-eating on various grounds. In the first place, flesh cannot be procured without causing destruction of life, which is nothing but clear Himsa.