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subjected to excessive cruelty and oppression. The doors of religion were tightly closed to them. Against all this cruelty and injustice, the Venerable Mahāvīra declared:
ucco gune karmaņi yaḥ sa ucco nico gune karmaņi yaḥ sa nicaḥ / śūdro'pi cet saccaritaḥ sa uccah dvijo’pi ced duscaritaḥ sa nīcaḥ // (That person is really high who is high in quality and action, and that person is really low who is low in quality and action. Even a südra is high if his conduct is good and virtuous, while even a brāhmaṇa is low if his conduct is evil and vicious.]
Declaring thus, he taught that highness or superiority of a man is based on and determined by the good and cultured thought and conduct. Not only by preaching it but also by putting it into practice he taught the principle. He threw open the doors of his religious Order to the untouchable, low-caste and down-trodden people. Having been initiated into the Order of Jaina monks, they attained the high spiritual titles of ļşi (sage), maharși (great sage) and mahātmā (great soul). The biographical accounts of such persons are found in the twelfth and thirteenth chapters of Uttaradhyayanasutra. In his days the status of women was very low. The Vedic tradition treated them with contempt and disregard. Their condition was pitiable and miserable. As against this, he declared women equal to men in status, elevated them to the same position as men held in the field of religion, regarded them as qualified for ascetic life and accepted them to the monastic Order. The religion taught by
1. atha häsya vedam upaśmnvatas trapujatubhyām śrotraparipuranam, udāharane jihvacchedah,
dhärane sarirabhedah Gautama-Dharmasūtra. Meaning: If a sūdra listens to the recitation of the Veda, his ears should be filled with hot lead and lac. If he recites the Veda, his tongųe should be cut off. And if he commits the Veda to memory, his body should be chopped up. na śüdrāya matim dadyān nocchistam na haviskytam / na cāsyopadiśed dharma na cāsya vratam adiset //-vāsistha-Dharmasutra. Meaning: One should not impart knowledge to a śūdra, should not give him remainder of food or offerings in sacrifices, should not teach him religion and should not
command him to observe vows. 2. Candanabălā who was once a princess had to pass her days as a female slave. Lord
Mahāvīra freed her from slavery and made her an ascetic nun (i.e., initiated her into the spiritual discipline of total abstinence from violence, etc.). Thus he established the Order of nuns with this noble lady as its first member.
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