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LIFE IN ANCIENT INDIA
they are alive, but contract second marriages soon after their death. Women, on the other hand, feel grateful to their husbands and decide to follow them on the funeral pyre, urged by the promptings of their conjugal love. Who then are more sincere in their love, men or women ? For men to say that women are fickle, frail and faithless is the height of impudence and ingratitude ; it reminds one of the audacity of clever thieves who first send away their loot and then challenge innocent persons demanding from them the stolen articles. 10
THE OTHER SIDE The other side of the picture cannot be ignored. We hear of devoted and chaste wives and of happy love and affection between husband and wife. A woman is counted among fourteen jewels of a cakkavattī.11 Malli, although a woman, we are told rose to the status of a Tīrihankara 13
Women were highly regarded and it is prescribed that at the time of difficulty such as caused by water, fire, robbers or famine, a woman must be rescued first.18 We hear of the faithful and chaste woman Rūjimati, who followed the footsteps of her husband and joined the ascetic order We are told that once Aritthanemi, his brother Rahanemi and Rūjimati all were practising penance on the same mountain, when Rahanemi lost self-control and began to court his sister-in-law The latter resisted boldly and baffled his attempt by offering him a drink in which she vomitted in his presence.14 Subhadrã was another chaste woman who was the daughter of a srāvaka and was married to a Buddhist (uvāsaga). She was accused of having illegal connections with white-clad monks (seyavadiyabhikkhu). Once upon a time, when a Jain monk was begging alms, it so happened that a rice-speck entered into his eye which Subhadrā picked out with her tongue While doing so, the forehead of Subhadrā and the monk touched each other and her forehead mark made with red lead (cīnapittha) was imprinted on the monk's forehead. This was shown to Subhadrā's husband, who suspecting the chastity of his wife proposed to put her to an ordeal 15
Jainism and Buddhism declared as we have seen that womanhood was no bar to salvation. We hear of a large number of women in Jain texts who distinguished themselves as teachers and preachers.16 Ajja Candanā is the supreme example of superiority of women, who was
10 Brhatsamhıtā, ch.76 6 12, 14, 16, 17, trans by A S Altekar, The Position of Ivomen
in Hindu Civilization, p 387 Fambu. 3 67, also cf Digha 11. pp 172-7 which mentions calka ratanam, hatthi ratanam,
assa ratanam, mani ratanam, itthi ratanam, gahapati ratanam and parināyala ratanam 13 Naya 8. However, attaining Tirthanharahood by a woman is unusual according to the
Svetämbaras and hence it is described as one of the ten unexpected things According to the Digambaras, however, Malli was a male, and no woman can ever altain
Moksa, 18 BTh. Bha 4.4948f. 14 Das. Sū. 2.7-11, Uttara. XXII. 16 Das. cü. 1, p. 49 f. 18 Cf. Anta. 6, 7, 8; Naya. II, 1-10, pp. 220-30.
