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How did Mahavira's five great vows expand on Parshvanatha's fourfold restraint?
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Jainism
Statue of the Jain Tirthankara (saviour) Mahavira.
Mahavira expanded the fourfold restraint established by his predecessor, Parshvanatha, by adding the vow of celibacy, thereby formalizing the five "great vows" (mahavratas) for Jain ascetics.1
Parshvanatha’s original fourfold restraint consisted of the following commitments:1
* Not to take life
* Not to steal
* Not to lie
* Not to own property
By incorporating the vow of chastity (celibacy) into this framework, Mahavira established the five mahavratas—the renunciation of killing, speaking untruths, greed, sexual pleasure, and all attachments to living beings and nonliving things. These vows serve as a foundational guide for Jain monks and nuns in their pursuit of salvation through extreme asceticism and nonviolence (ahimsa).213