Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jain Canons, with Commentaries: An Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey c12.s9.4

c12.s9.4

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.¹³ We hear of the faithful and chaste woman Rājimati, who followed the footsteps of her husband and joined the ascetic order We are told that once Aritthanemi, his brother Rahanemi and Rājimati 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 Subhadrā was another chaste woman who was the daughter of a *śrāvaka* 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 (*ciṇapiṭṭha*) 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 ordeal¹⁵