________________
Anand Shah | Prof. Ulrike Stark 6.8.18
the karmic theory of liberation, as well as in the existence of the soul and reincarnation. While
beliefs across different sects are remarkably stable in Jainism, there is divergence on the status of
women between the Shvetamber and Digamber sects. Shvetambers believe that women can
attain liberation while Digambers do not -- this is mainly attributed to the fact that Digambers
believe women cannot be naked, which is understood to be a necessary precondition to the
ascetic life. Shvetambers do not hold that an ascetic must be nude.
There are two things to note for the arguments that follow. First, when appropriate, the
positive arguments will be specific to the Indian state of Gujarat. We make this choice for four
reasons: first, Gujarat has one of the largest Jain populations in India, second, Gujarat has the
most concentrated Jain population in India; third, Gujarati Jains have, in the last century,
produced a significant amount of literature for us to draw from; fourth, Gujarat is home to many
of the epic Jain pilgrimage sites (Palitana, Shankheshwar, Taranga, Girnar et al.) and, as such,
captures much of the Jain social conscious.23 Second, when appropriate, we will revert to
Shvetamber norms. This is because Shvetambers make up more than two-thirds of the Jain
community.
Jain Theory
Stories as Imaging
Communal stories and mythology can be incredibly effective at describing the parameters
of moral correctness, especially when these stories are generational. Luckily for us, Jainism has
Dundas, Paul. The Jains. Psychology Press, 2002. 2 Shah, Pravin K. Compendium of Jainism. Jain Education International, 2015. 3 Jain, Dheeraj. Population of Jains in India: A Perspective from the Census 2011. International School for Jain Studies, 2017. 4 Merett, Paul, and Natubhai Shah. "Jainism Explained." Jainworld, Jain Samaj Europe.
