Article: Subhadrā

Story of Subhadrā

Subhadrā was born into a good Jain family, daughter of the king’s minister in Campa. In some versions her father is a merchant named Jinadatta. Subhadrā was very devout and her father wanted to marry her to a religious Jain of a good family.

One day a young Buddhist man named Buddhadās visited Campa, saw Subhadrā and fell in love. Buddhadās found out that Subhadrā’s family was looking for a good Jain husband for her, so he changed his name to Jinadās and pretended to be a Jain. He stayed with some Jain monks after claiming to have taken a vow to live temporarily like a monk. Jinadās-Buddhadās met Subhadrā’s father and lied to him about all the Jain vows he had taken. Subhadrā’s father was fooled and decided to marry Subhadrā to Jinadās-Buddhadās.

Staying true to Jainism

Woman prepares to make auspicious symbols
Image by Cactusbones – Sue Ann Harkey © CC Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0

In all the excitement of her new life, Subhadrā did not immediately realise that her in-laws were not Jains. One morning, Subhadrā went to worship at the Jain temple. When she returned, her mother-in-law told her that her new family were not Jains but Buddhists, and that from now on Subhadrā must only worship at Buddhist temples. Subhadrā defied her, continuing to worship at the Jain temple and pay homage to Jain mendicants.

One day a Jain monk who had been fasting for a full month came for alms to break his fast. The monk was in pain because of a piece of straw caught in his eye. Subhadrā wanted to help him, so she removed the straw from his eye with her tongue. Her red forehead mark stuck to the monk’s forehead as she did this.

When Subhadrā’s mother-in-law saw the red mark on the monk‘s forehead she said to Jinadās-Buddhadās: “Look, son! What kind of wife acts like this? She is shameless and that monk is filled with lust.”

Thus the mother-in-law stirred up trouble. Jinadās-Buddhadās believed that Subhadrā was disgraceful and beyond any hope of redemption.

Subhadrā did not know what to do so she vowed to stay in motionless meditation – kāyotsarga – until her name was cleared.

While she was deep in meditation, the guardian goddess who protects Jains came to her and said, “Hey, daughter, tomorrow morning your disgrace will be banished. I will speak as a voice from the sky. Do exactly what I say.”

Then the goddess left her.

A truly virtuous woman

The next morning no one could open the gates to the city. The king asked for any ideas when out of the sky came a voice, saying: “O King! Do not worry. Once a true woman – satī strī – draws water from this well with a sieve on a weak cotton thread and throws the water at the gates, then they will open.”

After the king heard this he called for all true women to come and try to open the gate. Many tried but none could keep water in the sieve. Everyone began to worry.

Subhadrā told her mother-in-law that she would open the gate.

Her mother-in-law became very angry and cried, “O sinful woman! In just one act, you have already shamed our family! What more do you want?”

Subhadrā humbly said, “I will ask the goddess. If she says yes, I shall open the gate.”

Just then a voice came from the sky: “Go and open that gate!”

Having heard this, Subhadrā went through the crowds of thousands of men and women. She drew water from the well with a sieve on a weak cotton thread and threw it on the gates. Three of the gates unlocked miraculously, but the fourth was still shut fast.

The goddess appeared and announced to the crowd, “I will only open the last gate when a true woman comes before me.”

Subhadrā bowed before the goddess and the gate opened. Everyone saw the miracle.

Then her mother-in-law asked for Subhadrā’s forgiveness and her husband’s family converted to Jainism.

At the end of her life, Subhadrā became a nun, destroyed her karma by fasting and attained liberation.