Gender and Salvation: Jaina Debates on the Spiritual Liberation of Women

Is a total renunciation of clothing a prerequisite to attaining spiritual liberation? In Gender and Salvation, Padmanabh S. Jaini brings to light previously untranslated texts centering on a centuries-old debate between the two principal Jaina sects, the Digambaras and the Svetambaras. At the core of the debate is the question of whether gender-based differences of biology and life experience shape or limit an individual’s ability to accomplish the ultimate religious goal.

For the Digambar...