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This story too comes down from the Mahāyāna tradition. Jina śrāvaka here stands for a nigantha in the Pali Tripitakas. Mahāvastu is written in Sanskrit. This is an admission of the fact that Buddha spent some time with the Jina Sravakas or nigant has and learnt practices from them.
49. Bhadrā Kundalkeśā
This is the story of a girl at Rajagsha. She saw a thief being taken by hangmen to be hanged for committing theft. At the girl's insistence, the father of the girl bribed the hangmen and got the chief released. The girl marr: ied this man. After some time, at her husbands request, the girl, well dressed and with costly ornaments on, accompanied him to a hill to perform some pūjā. There the man expressed a desire to kill her and rob her. The girl reluctantly agreed, since there was no alternative; but she made a last request which was that he should embrace her to full length before he killed her. The man agreed. As the man held her in embrace, the girl gave him a mighty push so that he went deep down. The girl descended from there and became a nun in the Nigantha order. She developed a habit of discussing with learned monks and defeating them. At last, the story concludes, she was defeated by Sariputta and joined Buddha's order.
Source: Dhammapada Atthakathā,
8/3; Therigātha Atthakathā, p. 99
She travelled to Magadha, Kosala, Kāśi, Vajji, Anga and other places carrying the teachings of Buddha. Buddha called her foremost among those with a sharp intellect2.
Comment
The narrative is interesting and full of events. Worthy of note is the fact that Buddha's foremost female
1. Theragātha, 107-11. 2. Anguttara Nikaya, Ebabbanipata, 14.
