Status of Women in Jainism in Karnataka

Summary

Kamala Hampana surveys inscriptions and literary sources from Karnataka to examine the status of women in Jain communities from ancient times to the medieval period; She deliberately avoids theoretical analysis of canonical texts and instead focuses on historical characters recorded in epigraphs; The article begins by stating that normally equality of opportunity was not denied to women in social and religious life; Jain society was largely patriarchal but the south Kanara Jains practised a matrilineal system in which the daughter’s husband became successor; even in patriarchal families daughters and sisters were entitled to a share of property; Female infanticide or neglect of girl children was not practised in the Jain community; Child marriage was unusual and inscriptions praise families who welcomed daughters; Widows were treated with respect and were not forced to shave their heads or wear coarse cloth; Education for women was encouraged; the first Tirthankara Ṛṣabhadeva is said to have educated his daughters Brahmī and Sundarī and this model was followed by later Jains; Poets like Pampa record that women mastered grammar and mathematics; Women also received training in martial arts and horse riding; There are examples of Jain queens who commanded armies or ruled in their own right; The essay cites queens like Attimabbe who built temples and sponsored copying of scriptures; Sāviyabbe who rode a horse into battle; Rājñī Cenna bhairidevī who ruled a kingdom for more than two decades; Women were also patrons of art architecture and literature; Hundreds of inscriptions record their donations to basadis and their endowments for the maintenance of religious institutions; Inter caste marriages were rare but women occasionally chose their own husbands in svayaṃvara ceremonies; The article lists fifteen observations summarising these themes; Women were trained in performing arts like dance and music and were allowed to give public performances; they practised vows such as sallekhana and were praised for moral courage; Hampana concludes that Jainism in Karnataka accorded women a significant measure of autonomy; The inscriptions show that women were active participants in religious economic and cultural life; Their contributions were instrumental in sustaining Jain heritage; The article thus challenges stereotypes of medieval Indian women as passive dependents; Instead it presents them as agents who shaped society through learning creativity and piety