Great Women in Jainism

Summary

Reprinted from the book ‘Great Women of India’, this article surveys the roles and status of women in Jain history and society. Jainism recognises a fourfold order of monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen; from the outset its scriptures acknowledge the presence of women and accord them a place alongside menirjms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Manuscript_IRJMS_03341_WS.pdf#:~:text=a%20separate%20identity%20often%20with,but%20also%20accords%20them%20equal. The article begins with legendary mothers such as Marudevi, mother of Rishabhanatha, and Trishala, mother of Mahavira, whose auspicious dreams heralded the birth of a Tirthankara. It then recounts stories of devout queens and wealthy merchants’ wives who financed temples, supported itinerant monks and acted as patrons of literature. In the Shvetambara tradition women actually outnumber men in the monastic order; laywomen perform essential roles in domestic rituals and religious educationirjms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Manuscript_IRJMS_03341_WS.pdf#:~:text=a%20separate%20identity%20often%20with,7. Nevertheless, Jain scriptures sometimes portray women as temptresses and debate their spiritual capacity. Digambara writers argue that because women cannot practise nudity, they cannot attain liberation in a female body; Shvetambaras reject this view and cite the example of Malli, the nineteenth Tirthankara, who they believe achieved liberation as a womanhttps://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/gender-and-religion-gender-and-jainism#:~:text=However%2C%20the%20main%20question%20is,possession%20or%20any%20moral%20defilementhttps://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/gender-and-religion-gender-and-jainism#:~:text=Jinas%27%20biographies%20are%20an%20important,life%20of%20Malli%2C%20whereas%20all. Modern scholarship referenced in the essay observes that researchers have often neglected Jain laywomen, focusing instead on monks and philosophyirjms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Manuscript_IRJMS_03341_WS.pdf#:~:text=neglected%20the%20Jain%20laywomen%20focusing,alternative%20understanding%20to%20Jainism%20beyond. Yet laywomen are the custodians of Jain religious life: they organise fasts, teach their children ethical precepts and manage charities. Contemporary demographic data underline their empowerment: Jain women have a literacy rate of 94.88 % and a sex ratio higher than the national averageirjms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Manuscript_IRJMS_03341_WS.pdf#:~:text=94.88,levels%20and%20the%20practice%20of. High literacy enables many to become professionals or business owners while maintaining religious observance. The article also outlines traditional classifications of female virtue, from maidenly chastity (kanya‑dharma) to the fidelity of married women (pativrata) and the austere life of widows, and it describes the rigorous discipline of Jain nuns, who pluck out their hair, live on alms and travel barefoot. By weaving together hagiography, doctrinal debates and sociological data, the article paints a nuanced picture of Jain womanhood: women have been revered as mothers of saviours and steadfast patrons, contested as potential liberants, and today stand among the most literate and socially empowered of India’s religious communities.