sallekhana means the religious practice of facing death voluntarily at the end of one's life, with fasting and meditation. It carries an Arena rating of 1650, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, sallekhana ranks #619 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #771 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #994 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #1,796 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words.
Why “sallekhana” is a great word
A ritualized, voluntary fast unto death, undertaken at life's end as an act of spiritual purification. The term is from Sanskrit सल्लेखना (sallekhanā), from सत् (sat, 'properly, good') and लेखना (lekhanā, 'writing, marking, thinning'), thus meaning 'proper thinning' or 'scouring away' of the passions and the body. Unlike 'suicide,' a sudden and desperate severance, or the broad discipline of 'asceticism,' sallekhana is a specific, final vow—a meticulously orchestrated unwinding: the measured refusal of the next spoonful of ghee, the body becoming a parchment of bone where desire is scraped clean, the final, conscious release of a breath grown so faint it simply forgets to return. It is the ultimate act of non-violence turned inward, a serene and deliberate vanishing.
Etymology
From Sanskrit सल्लेखना (sallekhanā).
noun
- The religious practice of facing death voluntarily at the end of one's life, with fasting and meditation.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- anumarana 59% match — The ancient Indian practice of voluntary death by self-immolation by Hindu widows after the death of the husband. vs sallekhana →
- sutteeism 55% match — suttee; the practice of self-immolation of Hindu widows. vs sallekhana →
- sadhana 54% match — A spiritual practice or discipline leading to a goal. vs sallekhana →
- suttee 53% match — The traditional custom of a Hindu woman giving herself up to be cremated on her husband’s funeral pyre as a sign of her devotion. vs sallekhana →
- prayopavesa 53% match — The act of suicide by fasting, performed by a person who no longer has any desire, ambition or responsibilities in life. vs sallekhana →
- sahaja 53% match — a style of discipline in Indian spirituality and Dharmic traditions vs sallekhana →
- thalaikoothal 53% match — The traditional practice of senicide or euthanasia, carried out by family members, observed in some parts of southern districts of Tamil Nadu state of India. vs sallekhana →
- sannyasa 52% match — The fourth (wandering ascetic) ashrama in Hindu spiritual life. vs sallekhana →