Heroic wives : rituals, stories, and the virtues of Jain wifehood

## Abstract Being a good Jain woman involves negotiating between the mutually exclusive ideologies found in the South Asian discourse of devoted wifehood and in the Jain discourse of renunciation. This book draws from a diverse collection of oral tellings, popular tracts, songs, verse narratives, fasting rituals, religious dramas, and large‐scale worship to provide new perspectives on the inherent tension between these ideologies and the space that tension creates for laywomen's agency. Heroic Wives suggests that women creatively and selectively negotiate their identities as wives at different moments on the trajectory of wifehood. In part I, women in established marriages use piety and ritual practices to protect their husband's health, to transform bad marriages into good ones, and to create and maintain ideal marriages. Part II examines how Jains reconfigure the relationship between wifehood and renunciation: on one hand, reconciling the two through stories of renunciation as a form of devoted wifehood, and, on the other, deploying the discourse of both in order to construct their identities as women who don't renounce, but instead choose to become wives. On a broader level, Heroic Wives discusses Jain narrative/ritual complexes as the site of laywomen's negotiations between multiple discourses that shape their thinking about wifehood, and in this context, Jain women position themselves as the agents of their futures. This book provides new perspectives on the experience of wifehood, South Asian women's lives, and Jain religious practices and narratives. It further advances ongoing dialogues about interactions of ritual, narrative, selfhood, and identity. Although in Hinduism it is mainly used to refer to widow immolation, the term 'sati' means 'true woman' - a female hero. Whitney Kelting has learned that in Jainism satis appear as subjects of devotional hymns. This seems paradoxical, given that Jain spirituality is to disengage oneself from worldly existence and Jain devotionalism is usually directed toward those souls who have reached perfect detachment. In fact, however, there is a vast corpus of popular texts, many of them written by prominent scholar-monks between the 16th and 18th centuries, illustrating the distinctly worldly virtues of devoted Jain wives. In this fieldwork-based study, Kelting explores the ways in which Jain women use sati narratives and rituals to understand wifehood as a choice, which these women's ongoing ritual practices continually shape. She focuses on eight well-known Jain sati narratives, recorded in both formal ritual contexts and in informal retellings, and also as read aloud from printed versions. She finds that one of the principal functions of Jain sati narratives is to contribute to a discourse of wifehood, which addresses the concerns of Jain laywomen within the Jain value system and provides a fertile context in which Jain women can explore their questions of virtue and piety. Contents......Page 12 Note on Translation and Transliteration......Page 14 1. Thinking about Wifehood......Page 18 Part I. Making Ideal Marriages......Page 48 2. Fasting, Saubhāgya, and Jain Satī Narratives......Page 50 3. Jain Satīs, Women’s Agency, and Bad Marriages......Page 70 4. The Perfect Marriage......Page 94 Part II. Negotiating Discourses......Page 122 5. Jains and Satīmātā Discourse......Page 124 6. Embodying Wifehood......Page 156 Conclusion: The Pleasures of Jain Wifehood......Page 186 Notes......Page 196 A......Page 238 C......Page 239 G......Page 240 M......Page 241 N......Page 242 R......Page 243 S......Page 244 T......Page 246 Y......Page 247 Works Cited......Page 248 C......Page 260 G......Page 261 M......Page 262 R......Page 263 T......Page 264 W......Page 265 Contents 12 Note on Translation and Transliteration 14 1. Thinking about Wifehood 18 Part I. Making Ideal Marriages 48 2. Fasting, Saubhāgya, and Jain Satī Narratives 50 3. Jain Satīs, Women’s Agency, and Bad Marriages 70 4. The Perfect Marriage 94 Part II. Negotiating Discourses 122 5. Jains and Satīmātā Discourse 124 6. Embodying Wifehood 156 Conclusion: The Pleasures of Jain Wifehood 186 Notes 196 Glossary 238 A 238 B 239 C 239 D 240 G 240 I 241 J 241 K 241 M 241 N 242 O 243 P 243 R 243 S 244 T 246 U 247 V 247 Y 247 Works Cited 248 Index 260 A 260 B 260 C 260 D 261 E 261 F 261 G 261 H 262 I 262 J 262 K 262 L 262 M 262 N 263 O 263 P 263 R 263 S 264 T 264 U 265 V 265 W 265 In This Fieldwork-based Study, Kelting Explores The Ways In Which Jain Women Use Sati Narratives And Rituals To Understand Wifehood As A Choice, Which These Women's Ongoing Ritual Practices Continually Shape. She Focuses On Eight Well-known Jain Sati Narratives. 1. Thinking About Wifehood -- Pt. I. Making Ideal Marriages -- 2. Fasting, Saubhagya, And Jain Sati Narratives -- 3. Jain Satis, Women's Agency, And Bad Marriages -- 4. The Perfect Marriage -- Pt. Ii. Negotiating Discourses -- 5. Jains And Satimata Discourse -- 6. Embodying Wifehood -- Conclusion : The Pleasures Of Jain Wifehood. M. Whitney Kelting. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [233]-244) And Index.