82-Year-Old Woman Undertakes Santhara to Renounce Her Life

Santhara is a Jain community ritual where people fast unto death for a better ‘next life’.

Bikaner’s 82-year-old Badni Devi is undertaking the Jain ritual of Santhara, a fast unto death. (Photo: ANI)

82-year-old Badni Devi is surviving on a few teaspoons of water everyday. She’s on a fast unto death.

What she’s doing would have been called illegal, until the Supreme Court stepped in to lift the ban on Santhara – the Jain practise of renouncing life.

We were relieved when the Rajasthan High Court had put a ban on this ritual, but my mother has always been a devout Jain and we are learning to make peace with her decision.
— Kiran, Badni Devi’s Son

Badni Devi is so weak now, that she can’t even speak. In a few days, she will get what she seeks. Her relatives say that they can’t change her mind.