Article: Soḷ satī

Identifying the 16 satīs

Rājīmatī awaits her fiancé
Image by British Library © CC0 1.0 (Creative Commons Public Domain)

Jains conventionally group 16 satīs together. This list probably stems from a short hymn, often called Brāhmī Candanbālikā after its first line.

The 16 satīs are usually listed as follows:

1. Brāhmī
2. Sundarī
3. Candanbālā
4. Rājīmatī
5. Draupadī
6. Kausalyā
7. Mṛgāvatī
8. Sulasā
9. Sītā
10. Subhadrā
11. Śivā
12. Kuntī
13. Damayantī
14. Puṣpacūlā
15. Prabhāvatī
16. Padmāvatī.

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

Several of these 16 satīs, such as Candanbālā and Rājīmatī, are significant figures in traditional stories and feature in elements of Jain rituals in addition to their status as satīs. On the other hand, some of the best-known and most revered satīs, such as Rohiṇī, Añjanāsundarī and Mayṇāsundarī, are not included in the 16 satīs. The 16 satīs is a fixed list so other satīs, including later popular ones, are not included.

Differences between Jain and Hindu satīs

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

1. Draupadī
2. Kausalyā
3. Sītā
4. Kuntī
5. Damayantī.

The very popular satī Añjanāsundarī is also a Hindu satī. Jains define satīs in ways that invoke ideals that are also found in Hindu satī notions about women’s fidelity and moral strength. However, there are important differences in the concept of the satī between the two faiths.

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

The same satī may appear in both Hindu and Jain versions but with subtly different emphases. For example, Jainism has a long tradition of telling the Hindu Rāma story and so Rāma‘s wife Sītā appears in a wide array of Jain texts. However, the Jain versions of these satī 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 satīs, such as:

• pativratā – a wife who vows to be devoted to her husband
• saubhāgya – the auspiciousness of a wife whose husband is alive.

A major exception is the Hindu satīmātā and her death on her husband’s 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 satīs 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 wife’s virtue. This aspect is found in many Jain satīs. In contrast to Hindu satīs, Jain satīs include virtuous women whose virtue becomes plain in their renunciation both before and after marriage.

Ritual uses of satī 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 satī lists are also used in important rites familiar to nearly all Śvetāmbara Jains.

There are two ritual uses associated with lists of satīs.

The most important is the recitation of the Bharahesara nī Sajjhāy as part of the morning confession – pratikramaṇ. The Bharahesara nī Sajjhāy 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 Śvetāmbara mendicants recite the confession every day and pious lay people and fasters also make a morning confession.

Secondly, satī lists establish a catalogue of female virtue that can be used as a type of auspiciousness. The Brāhmī Candanbālikā, Soḷ Satī no Chand and other satī lists usually function as auspicious texts – māṅgalik. 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 satīs in the 16 satīs are associated with independent rituals. For example Candanbālā is linked to the Candanbālā Fast and Rājīmatī is both the model for women’s renunciation and is linked to the Saubhāgya Pañcamī Fast.