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Lord Mahavira and His Times
and devote their time entirely to religion and education. They were known as Naishțhika Brahmacharins, Their primary motive was spiritual salvation, but they set out to achieve this not by penance or meditation, but by the dedication of a life of celibacy to the cause of the sacred lore. FEMALE EDUCATION
The permission granted by Mahāvīra and the Buddha. for the admission of women into their respective Orders, provided an impetus to the spread of education and philosophy among the ladies. Some of them distinguished themselves. as teachers and preachers. They used to lead a life of celibacy, with the aim of understanding and following the eternal truths of religion and philosophy. Ajita Chandanā became the first disciple of Mahāvīra under whom a large number of nuns practised the rules of right conduct and attained salyation. Another famous lady Jayanti, the sister of king Sayāmīya of Kośãmbi, abandoned her royal robe and became a devout nun.2 Some of the nuns well-versed in the knowledge of the sacred texts became teachers of the junior nuns.
The ladies who entered the Buddhist order were known Theris, some of whom made themselves off. The most distinguished of them was Dhammadinnā who brought about her husband's spiritual salvation. She solved all difficult metaphysical problems with the ease of 'one who severs the stalk of a lotus with the sword.' Mahāprajāpati, the sister of the Buddha's. mother, who entered the Order with a following of 500 other Śäkya ladies constituting the Order of Nuns, was hardly inferior to any of the monks in piety and learning. Kisa Gotami was known for her progress in virtue and philosophical learning. Sukkā was such a successful speaker and preacher that, to hear her speak, people would flock out of the city and not feel tired of listening to her.3
When a large number of ladies were receiving higher education and were making their own contributions to the growth of knowledge, it is but natural to suppose that some of them 1. Anta, 8; Kalpa, 7. 135. 2. Bhag, 12 2.
C.A. FOLEY's article in the Ninth Oriental Congress Report Vol. I, pp, 310 f, See also A. S. ALTEKAR: Ancient Indian Education, pp. 464-466.
