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Significance of Jainism :: 149
both the categories of house-holders and ascetics. It is a clear indication that the females were very eager to take full advantage of the opportunity offered to them by Tīrtharkara Mahāvira. In fact, many females from royal families and close relatives of Tirthankara Mahāvīra joined his ascetic order along with the other ordinary members. For example, Chandana and Jyesthā, the two younger sisters of queen Tribalādevī, the mother of Mahāvīra, and Yasasvati, the wife of their maternal uncle entered the ascetic order of Tīrthankara Mahāvīra; and eventually Chandanā assumed the position of the head of the sādhvis, i.e., the female ascetics. In this way Tīrtharikara Mahāvīra effected emancipation of women by giving them similar opportunities like men to achieve their highest objective in life, viz., liberation. Females made best of these opportunities and many of them distinguished themselves as teachers and preachers.
4. Impetus to Female Education
Further the religious independence given to women had its repercussions in other fields also. Equality of opportunity was accorded to women in several social spheres of action. In education they were given equal treatment with the males. The utmost importance of imparting education to females, along with males, was realised even in the ancient past by Rşabhadeva, the first Tīrthankara, who had advised his two young daughters, Brāhmi and Sundarī, that "only when you would adorn yourself with education your life would be fruitful because just as a learned man is held in high esteem by educated persons, a learned lady also occupies the highest position in the female world.” According to Jaina tradition women are expected to know 64 arts which include dancing, painting, music, aesthetics, medicine, domestic science, etc. As a result of this high type of education received by women, we find, in Jaina tradition, that many women used to enter the teaching profession and to remain unmarried throughout their life in order to carry on their spiritual experiments unhampered. It is recorded in Jaina
