Jain woman recovers from Covid-19, embraces 'sanlekhna' death

A 64-year-old woman who recently recovered from the coronavirus infection in Indore in Madhya Pradesh but decided to stop treatment for a lung infection and intake of food and water in order to sacrifice her life as per Jain traditions has died, her kin said on Friday.

On Tuesday, the woman, who was being treated for a severe lung infection at a private hospital, expressed a desire to visit Pushpgiri, a Jain pilgrimage in Dewas in MP, said her relative Jitendra Jain.

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"She followed the age-old practice of 'sanlekhna', (which entails giving up food and water in order to sacrifice one's life) in Pushpgiri. She died on Wednesday, which was also her birthday. She is survived by two married sons while her husband died earlier," Jain said.

Anil Dongre, in charge of the health department's screening committee for the prevention of Covid-19, said the woman was admitted to a private hospital with Covid-19 but then tested negative for the infection after treatment.

"Her lungs were severely affected and she was finding it difficult to breathe. She had also undergone heart surgery a few years ago. Her family got her discharged from hospital on Tuesday," a doctor at the private hospital said.

Sanlekhna is also called sallekhna, santhara or samadhi maran, as per Jain religious traditions.