16 Vestal of jainism

A sat is a virtuous woman, usually showing her virtue through fidelity. In Hindu contexts, this faithfulness centres on the sats husband, but in Jain contexts it revolves around fidelity to the Jain religion. Although Jains call many virtuous Jain women sats, among wetmbara Jains there is a group of sats called the so sat or 16 sats. These Jain sats are revered as role models for women and their stories are widely known. Even though the general group of sat grows over time, the group of 16 sats is unchanging.

As examples of the ideal Jain woman, lists of the sats names are believed to invite good fortune. These lists therefore have ritual functions, serving as blessings and auspicious recitations. The Bharahesara n Sajjhy a list of virtuous Jain men and women is a major element in vetmbara Jains morning confession or ra pratikrama. This indicates the moral authority and religious influence of the notion of the sat.

Identifying the 16 sats

This detail from a manuscript painting shows Princess Rjmat on her wedding day, awaiting her fianc Prince Nemi. He decides to renounce the world and become a monk when he hears the cries of the animals about to be slaughtered for the marriage feast. T

Jains conventionally group 16 sats together. This list probably stems from a short hymn, often called Brhm Candanblik after its first line.

The 16 sats are usually listed as follows:

Brhm

Sundar

Chandanbl

Rjmat

Draupad

Kausaly

Mgvat

Sulas

St

Subhadr

iv

Kunt

Damayant

Pupacl

Prabhvat

Padmvat.

Though there are occasional changes in the order of the names, this list is remarkably stable in Jain tradition.

Several of these 16 sats, such as Candanbl and Rjmat, are significant figures in traditional stories and feature in elements of Jain rituals in addition to their status as sats. On the other hand, some of the best-known and most revered sats, such as Rohi, Ajansundar and Maysundar, are not included in the 16 sats. The 16 sats is a fixed list so other sats, including later popular ones, are not included.

Differences between Jain and Hindu sats

The 16 Jain sats include five sats shared with Hinduism. They are:

Draupad

Kausaly

St

Kunt

Damayant.

The very popular sat Ajansundar is also a Hindu sat. Jains define sats in ways that invoke ideals that are also found in Hindu sat notions about womens fidelity and moral strength. However, there are important differences in the concept of the sat between the two faiths.

In Hindu contexts, the faithfulness that is at the heart of a womans identification as a sat centres on her husband, but in Jain contexts it revolves around loyalty to the Jain religion.

The same sat may appear in both Hindu and Jain versions but with subtly different emphases. For example, Jainism has a long tradition of telling the Hindu Rma story and so Rmas wife St appears in a wide array of Jain texts. However, the Jain versions of these sat tales conform to Jain ethics and virtues by stressing renunciation, non-violence and the veneration of Jinas and Jain monks.

Jains share with Hindus common ideas relating to sats, such as:

pativrat a wife who vows to be devoted to her husband

saubhgya the auspiciousness of a wife whose husband is alive.

A major exception is the Hindu satmt and her death on her husbands funeral pyre. Jains clearly reject any ideas of bodily self-sacrifice for two reasons. Firstly, the passion involved in such an act goes against the Jain ideal of detachment. Secondly, they reject the self-immolation because of its profound violence.

The Jain sats embrace austerities for their own benefit and that of others, but do so with the expectation that ultimately these austerities will work towards their own liberation. This fidelity to religion often leads to renunciation of the worldly life in favour of nunhood, but not always.

The ideal of the devoted wife is a powerful part of the model woman for Jains, especially regarding the wifes virtue. This aspect is found in many Jain sats. In contrast to Hindu sats, Jain sats include virtuous women whose virtue becomes plain in their renunciation both before and after marriage.

Ritual uses of sat lists

The notion of the virtuous woman is very influential in the Jain faith. Lists of exemplary Jain womanhood provide female Jains with models of religious devotion and behaviour. The sat lists are also used in important rites familiar to nearly all vetmbara Jains.

There are two ritual uses associated with lists of sats.

The most important is the recitation of the Bharahesara n Sajjhy as part of the morning confession pratikrama. The Bharahesara n Sajjhy is a list of 100 virtuous Jain men and women and is a fixed part of the daily ritual. Its key role suggests that the virtues of women alongside those of virtuous men are valuable in the rites of karma reduction. All vetmbara mendicants recite the confession every day and pious lay people and fasters also make a morning confession.

Secondly, sat lists establish a catalogue of female virtue that can be used as a type of auspiciousness. The Brhm Candanblik, So Sat no Chand and other sat lists usually function as auspicious texts mgalik. Recounting one of these lists blesses the start of a sermon or other religious event. Jains also often recite the lists in the morning to begin the day auspiciously.

In addition, some individual sats in the 16 sats are associated with independent rituals. For example Chandanbl is linked to the Candanbl Fast and Rjmat is both the model for womens renunciation and is linked to the Saubhgya Pacham Fast.