VEGETARIAN-FOOD AND JAIN-CONDUCT > Udambar etc 5 fruits (page added by AtmaDharma.com in 2015)

Evidence of why one should not eat these fruits: What the shastras say, What wikipedia says, Video Evidence

What Shastras Say:

Gatha 72, Purusharth Siddhi Upai


Gujarati Purusharth Suddhi Upai, Gatha 72, Tika, pdf page 78 (physical page 66)

Hindi Purusharth Suddhi Upai, Gatha 72, Tika, pdf page 105 (physical page 71)
Rough translation of Purusharth Siddhi Upai (Hindi) Tika of Gatha 72:
"...Udambar and Katumar - these two and the fruits of Pakar (anjeer), Vaad and Pipl - these three - they are all places where mobile beings are found/live/grow, one can see flying beings there ...... therefore by eating these 5 items the hinsa of eating mobile beings is committed...."

Please read PurusharthSiddhiUpai: Gatha 72 & 73 for full details. 		  So the Names of the 5 fruits are:
Group 1Udambar
Katumar
Group 2Pakar (anjeer)
Vaad
Pipl

Proof that what the shastras say is true regarding Anjeer - Figs

The most well-known of these 5 fruits is Anjeer (Fig). Below is some proof from research on the internet as to why Jains and even Vegetarians should not consume Figs.

Botanical classification of Figs (from Wikipedia)
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Moraceae
Tribe: Ficeae (FICUS)
 The unique characteristics of Ficus Tribe (Wikipedia):
  • The fig fruit is an enclosed inflorescence, sometimes referred to as a syconium, an urn-like structure lined on the inside with the fig's tiny flowers.
  • The Fig tree has unique pollination system, involving tiny, highly specific wasps, known as fig wasps that enter via ostiole into the syconium containing these sub-closed inflorescences to both pollinate and lay their own eggs.
  • Many have aerial roots and a distinctive shape or habit, and their fruits distinguish them from other plants.
  • ...All fig trees possess a white to yellowish latex, some in copious quantities;.... Many used for rubber.

Video evidence supporting the shastras: Figs are not edible by Jains and Vegetarians

  1. Complete lifecycle- fig wasp and fig fruit - by David Attenborugh - Link to same video on Youtube
  2. Female fig wasps (Agaonidae) leaving syconia of Ficus cf. luschnathiana (Moraceae). This video was filmed on June 11th 2010, in Porto Alegre, Brazil - Link to same video on Youtube.
  3. Fig wasps leaving manually-dissected Ficus syconia (on Youtube).
  4. Symbiotic relationship between Figs and Fig Wasps - Educational film
  5. Fig and Fig Wasp (on Youtube).
  6. How the fig tree strangles other plants for survival in the rainforest (on Youtube) - David Attenborough - BBC wildlife. Strangler fig trees grow around other trees until they're totally enclosed and die. A BBC production
  7. FigWeb.org - useful information on figs & fig wasps