28. Indus seals showing the Jain scriptural belief of nonviolence
The Jain scriptural texts known as Agamas have twelve Angas (‘limbs’), described in four Anuyogas (i.e. the total literature divided in four sections). The first anuyoga narrates the exemplary cases as stories of not one but of several rebirths in order to convince the listener/ reader to accept the law of the swastika applicable in Nature. Some of those stories are significantly shown in Indus seal texts.
The text, which contains much more than these seals, shows an animal called as Mahamatsya or the giant fish (which scholars appear to have taken as ‘prawn’). It has five senses and ten pranas (life-forces) just as a human being. In this life it is capable of observing spirituality in order to achieve salvation by rigorous austerity that other people normally do not have. They have the strongest human constitution [endurance – Ed.]], symbolized by a vajra (a rock or diamond) and also symbolized by a bull equaling that of Rishabha as shown in these and many other seal texts as 
.
Similarly, seals below show some other animals like dogs, lizard and a bee to convey that they too observe self-restraint and are capable of taking the path of spirituality and sallekhana to evolve spiritually on their own, maintaining ecological balance in
Dhai Dweep – the worlds in which human beings reside. Some seals show birds like a duck, pigeon, hen, parrot, eagle etc. in the Indus texts together with the code of ratnatraya leading to self-reservation and spirituality until death by observing sallekhana, suggesting that they too, like ascetics, can observe penance and behave like a human being and are not to be ignored or dealt with brutality by man. Unfortunately under their ignorance people have called them table birds, sea food and various types of protein rich foods such as table meats, not realizing what heinous karma their killers and feasters invite and spin for themselves, the results of which
they will have to face in the future. Spiritual people can never consider violence against any creature, whether ‘lower’ or ‘higher’ if they care for their own soul. This is the Indus message.
Next issue: 29. Historical narrations