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Rituals and Healing: The Case of.... : 67 (literally means mother). She was a goddess of children (and possibly childhood diseases and/ or childbirth) who was “elevated” to the position of yakși attendant on Tīrthankaras. Her role as goddess of childbirth was preserved by medieval Svetāmbars, who worshipped Ambikā following the birth of a child." The fourteenth century Jain text Vividhatīrthakalp of Jinaprabha Sūril4 situates the story of Ambikā in the context of an anti-Brahminical perspective. As per the narrative an orthodox Brahamin named Soma lived in Kodīnārā (in Saurashtra) with his wife Ambikā and two sons Siddha and Buddha (liberated and enlightened). On the śrāddha ceremony on the anniversary of his father's death, Soma invited several Brahamins for a feast. Soma's mother cooked the meal, and then went for her bath, leaving only Ambikā and two boys in the house. A Jain monk, who had been fasting for a month came to the house, and Ambikā gave him some food from the prepared feast. When Soma heard what had happened- from a Brahminical perspective she had polluted the food, rendering it unfit for the feast- he became angry and kicked her out of the house. She and her two sons wandered homeless. The sons were hungry, and Ambikā had no food for them, when a dried mango tree by the road suddenly gave four ripe fruit. The sons were thirsty, and there was no water to be found, when a dried lake suddenly filled with water. In the meantime, Soma had realized his error, and came running after Ambikā to bring her back. She saw him coming, feared further violence and so to save herself she and her sons jumped into a well and died. Soma died soon afterwards from remorse. Ambīkā was reborn as Śāsanadevatā of Neminātha (the pre- eminent Tirthankara of Gujarat, with his principle tīrtha at Girnār in Saurashtra, and cousin of Krşņa). Soma was reborn as a lion, her vehicle. The two sons are shown in the iconography of Ambikā, and the cluster of mangoes she is usually shown holding are the mangoes she fed to her sons.' In this story not only the i subordinate gender equation but also the healing properties of Jainism
are underlined. Transformation of Ambikā from a Brahmin housewife to a Jain deity may be seen as a process of divine healing due to her following of Jain virtues against the violent exploitation inherent in
