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''Aryika'', also known as ''Sadhvi'', is a female mendicant ( nun) in
''Aryika'', also known as ''Sadhvi'', is a female mendicant ( nun) in Jainism
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...
.
History
In the traditionalDigambara
''Digambara'' (; "sky-clad") is one of the two major Jain schools and branches, schools of Jainism, the other being ''Śvetāmbara'' (white-clad). The Sanskrit word ''Digambara'' means "sky-clad", referring to their traditional monastic pract ...
tradition, a male human being is considered closest to the apex with the potential to achieve liberation, particularly through asceticism. Women must gain karmic merit, to be reborn as man, and only then can they achieve spiritual liberation in the Digambara sect of Jainism. This view is different from the Svetambara sect that believes that women too can achieve liberation from '' Saṃsāra'' by being mendicants and through ascetic practices.
According to Svetambara Jain texts, from '' Kalpa Sūtra'' onwards, Jainism has had more ''sadhvis'' than ''sadhus'' (female than male mendicants). In Tapa Gacch of the modern era, the ratio of sadhvis to sadhus (nuns to monks) is about 3.5 to 1. This is much higher, and in contrast to the gender ratio historically observed in Buddhism and Hinduism..According to a 2009 publication by Harvey J. Sindima, Jain monastic community had 6,000 sadhvis of which less than 100 belong to the Digambara tradition and rest to Śvetāmbara.
Traditionally, in contrast to Svetambara, the Digambara sect has had far less ''sadhvis''. In contemporary times, some Digambara organizations include ''sandhvis'', but the ratio of sadhvis to sadhus (nuns to monks) has been about 1 to 3.
Conduct
A Sadhvi, like a Sadhu, enters the mendicant order by making the Five vows: Ahimsa (Non-violence or Non-injury), Satya (Truthfulness), Asteya (Non-stealing), Brahmacharya (Abstinence from sex and sensual pleasures), and Aparigraha (Non-attachment). Describing the conduct of ''aryikas'', Champat Rai Jain in his book, ''Sannyāsa Dharma'' writes: Jains supporting the spiritual liberation of womankind note that their conduct is inclusive in such a path: "It is by way of the Three Jewels that one attains moksa. Nowhere in the Agamas is it stated that women are unable to realise these Three Jewels" (the right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct).See also
* Jain monasticism *Jain schools and branches
Jainism is an Indian religion which is traditionally believed to be propagated by twenty-four spiritual teachers known as ''tirthankara''. Broadly, Jainism is divided into two major schools of thought, Digambara and Śvetāmbara. These are fur ...
Notes
References
* * Jain monasticism Jainism and women {{Jainism-stub