"Women in the Eyes of Mahavira — Sinner or Redeemer?" by Deepak Shimkhada and LaChelle Schilling (original) (raw)

2023, S/HE: An International Journal of Goddess Studies

Abstract This paper aims to address some of the concerns certain readers might have about Mahavira and his statements about women in Jain literature. By discussing historical context and alternative and feminist readings of his more controversial dictates, it is argued that Mahavira offers a liberating message that many women have responded to in excess of male mendicants. This reading leaves open the potential for Jain women, through the connection with their bodies and their particular suffering, to also be, alongside men in the Jain community, redeemers of the earth. Keywords Role of women in Jainism, Mahavira, male chauvinism, alluring quality of women, Apsara, Rishi Viswamitra, Bihar as Jungle-Raj, monk Rathanemi, Sati Rajimati

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