Indian Antiquary Vol 51

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 233

DECEMBER, 1922)
ABOUT BUDDHIST NUNS
226
ABOUT BUDDHIST NUNS.
BY KALIPADA MITRA, M.A. In the March issue of the Indian Antiquary (1921) Mr. K. V. Lakshman Rao, M.A., has written (p. 83): “It is Buddha who first founded the system of samnyása for women and consequently references to bhikkhunis, samanis, pabbajitds and nunneries are found in Buddhistic literature........ It is no wonder then that these young female ascetics were called kumara-dramaņas which necessitated a separate rule in Pâņini", and later on (p. 84) "I therefore consider the framand and pravrajita mentioned in the Satra and Ganapatha of Pånini as reforring to the Buddhist samanis and pabbajitas."
It appears therefore from the above that Mr. Lakshman Rao holds that (1) Pånini knew the Buddhist Nuns and that (2) it is Buddha who first founded the Order of the sisters (nuns) by ordaining them sanyasinis.
Since the Order of the female ascetics, in some cases girls of seven years of age and therefore very young (callod kumdra-sramands) was founded by Buddha, it could not exist earlier than when Buddha flourished. To have been acquainted with it Pâņini must either be the contemporary of Buddha or must succeed him--in any case, he could not have precoded him in point of time. Pånini's knowledge or non-knowledge of the nuns therefore primarily depends upon his date. I believe many authorities hold Pånini to have belonged to the middle of the eighth century or simply the eighth century B.C. Vincent Smith believes his date to have been the seventh century B.C. The date of Buddha's death was formerly supposed by him to have been 487 B.C., but after the new reading of the Khâravela inscription ho is disposed to take it to be 544 B.C., if of course it has been correctly interpreted. The Buddhist order of bhikkhunis could not hava been founded carlier than the sixth century B.C. If these findings of the dates be correct, Panini preceded Buddha and could not therefore have known the Order of nuns founded by him. Tho solution of the first question depends on how the respective dates are ascertained. If Panini preceded Buddha the word óramaņā would imply the existence of Hindu female ascetics before Buddha's appearance.
The second point that it is Buddha who first founded the system of samnyása for women is open to contention. Pandit Vidhuhekhara Sastri of Santiniketana has examined this point at some length in the introduction of his work, Palimokkham (written in Bengali). I here give a summary of his arguments for supposing that female ascetics existed even before the time of Buddha..
In the Vedic times there were some women poets, such as Visvavård, Ghosha, Lopemudra, who composed hymns. They were called brahmavádinis. In the Brihadaranyaka Mai. treyi, wife of Yajñavalkya, was a brahmavddini. But brahmavadini does not necessarily signify one who has renounced the world and become a sanyasini'. There is no proof of the existence of saninydea in the period of the Samhita. But it might be that some of the brahmavddinís were, like Maitreyi, married and of the world, others were celibate and were brahmacárinis even from youth. The instance of the brahmavddini Vâcaknavi Gargi may be taken. She disputed boldly in an assembly of the brahmavide-an unusual thing for a girl to do so, for even in the Vedio times, a daughter-in-law would be ashamed to appear before her father-in-law (inusha sva fund lajjamând niliyamând-Aitareya Brahmana, 3-12-11). This is suggestive of her being unmarried and a brahmacárini. Samkarâcârya says (Vedanta, 3. 4. 36 et seg) that she was unmarried and was not in the gårhasthyderama; she was andera mini.