Which of the following statements with regard to the heterodox sect between sixth and fourth century BC are correct?
1. The Jain ideas were already being circulated in the seventh century BC by Parshva.
2. Although Buddhism, and to a lesser extent Jainism, took account of the changes in material life and reacted against orthodoxy, neither of these sought to abolish the caste system.
3. The first female disciple of Mahavira is said to have been a captured slave woman.
4. Buddha held that nuns could attain spiritual liberation just like a monk and granted them an equal status in the mendicant order.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
1, 2, 3 and 4
1, 2 and 3 only
1, 2 and 4 only
3 and 4 only
Answer is Right!
Answer is Wrong!
This question was previously asked in
UPSC CDS-2 – 2017
Statements 1, 2, and 3 are correct with regard to the heterodox sects between the sixth and fourth centuries BC.
1. Jain traditions acknowledge a lineage of Tirthankaras preceding Mahavira; Parshvanatha is accepted as the 23rd Tirthankara who lived in the 7th century BC.
2. While both Buddhism and Jainism challenged Brahmanical dominance and offered alternative paths to liberation accessible to all social strata within their monastic orders, they did not attempt to abolish the caste system entirely for the lay society, which continued to exist.
3. According to Jain texts, Chandana (or Chandanbala), who became the first female disciple (Sadhvi), was a princess who had been captured and enslaved.
4. While Buddha allowed women into the monastic order (Bhikkhuni Sangha), he instituted additional rules and conditions for nuns that placed them in a subordinate position to monks, indicating that they were not granted an equal status in the mendicant order’s hierarchy and governance compared to monks.