Why do Jain monks and nuns avoid bathing?

Jain monks and nuns avoid bathing primarily to adhere to the fundamental ethical principle of ahimsa, or nonviolence toward all living creatures.12

In Jainism, ascetics observe the "great vows" (mahavratas), which require the utmost care to prevent knowingly or unknowingly causing injury to any jiva (living soul), including microscopic life-forms. Bathing is avoided because the use of water is believed to potentially harm the various life-forms that may exist within it. This practice is consistent with other monastic regulations, such as boiling drinking water to ensure it is free of life-forms and using a mukhavastrika (cloth mouth cover) to prevent the accidental ingestion of insects.134

By abstaining from bathing and other activities that might disturb or destroy life, Jain renunciants seek to avoid the accumulation of karma, which keeps the soul trapped in the cycle of rebirth, and instead pursue spiritual purity and enlightenment.13