Jain Spirit 2005 09 No23

Author(s): Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains

Page 37

With a fresh look at the tale of
n the Jain time cycle, the current their own secondary scriptures, the Tirthankara Malli, SADHVI SHILAPIJI degenerate times of the so-called Anuyogas, from which we get their inspires us to question existing Jain
kaliyuga (the age of vice), or the version of the legend of Mallinath. thought on female liberation.
fifth stage of time (panchamakala), According to this legend, Malli (or rather
dictate that neither man nor woman Mallinath as he is called) was male, a can attain moksha. Yet the issue
member of a royal family, and pursued of women's liberation is still at the the path of a would-be Jina in the pinnacle of differences that divide the same manner as the other Jinas, that modern Jain church.
is, by strictly observing the vows of a
Digambara monk. The debate surrounding the sex of the 19th Tirthankara Malli/Mallinath Our research suggests that for a variety symbolises the great controversy
of reasons, we cannot be confident between the Digambara and
about the originality of the works. Shvetambara sects. The debate
Indeed it is not unlikely that both works signifies the discord that exists between were influenced by the prevailing social these two sects over a major doctrinal conditions and sectarian prejudices of issue: can a woman achieve moksha? the times. Therefore, it seems rather
difficult to say anything with certainty The Digambara sect of Jainism
regarding the authenticity and antiquity vehemently insists that women cannot of the legend of Malli. Nonetheless, attain moksha (emancipation of a soul certain points can be explored. from the cycle of birth and death, also known as samsara), whilst the The first evidence in support of men's Shvetambara sect steadfastly refuses and women's spiritual inequality is to claim exclusively male access to the found in the Prakrit Suttapahuda liberated state (Arhat or Siddha).
ascribed to Kundakunda, one of the
most revered Digambara teachers. The legend of the 19th Tirthankara
He is said to have worked toward Malli/Mallinath is found in the 6th
the beginning of the Christian era. Anga of the Shvetambara canon
Kundakunda propounded that in
order to become a true Jain mendicant, one needs to relinquish not only internal attachments (antar-parigraha), but also all forms of external possessions (bahya-parigraha) including one's clothes. That is
one must assume the state of THE DIGAMBARA SECT OF JAINISM complete nudity (nagnabhava).
24 Thus, Kundakunda made VEHEMENTLY INSISTS THAT
A ascetic nudity an essential WOMEN CANNOT ATTAIN MOKSHA com
ALIAIN MONOSNA component of the path to (EMANCIPATION OF A SOUL FROM THE liberation. When coupled with
CYCLE OF BIRTH AND DEATH, ALSO the Digambara prohibition
KNOWN AS SAMSARA), WHILST THE against women's renunciation SHVETAMBARA SECT STEADFASTLY of clothes, this led to the REFUSES TO CLAIM EXCLUSIVELY
formulation of the doctrine
that a person could not attain MALE ACCESS TO THE LIBERATED moksha while having a female
STATE (ARHAT OR SIDDHA) body (Jaini, 1991).
Nayadhammakahao, which was committed to writing approximately 980 years after the Nirvana of Mahavir. The Shvetambara tradition maintains that Malli was a female.
Alternatively, the Shvetambaras did not consider clothes a
possession (parigraha) but rather an indispensable component of the religious life (dharma-upakarana). Therefore, even though nuns wore clothes in strict accordance with the prohibition against nudity, they were on an equal footing with the monks and were granted the full status of mendicancy. More importantly, however, women were considered eligible to attain moksha in their female bodies - a prospect possible to any nun who was sufficiently spiritually adept. Moksha was therefore not
The Digambara sect staunchly rejects this affirmation as blasphemous and considers it a Shvetambara fabrication to support their theory that a nun can attain moksha. The Digambaras also rejected the authenticity of the Shvetambara scriptures and produced
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