Itinerant white-robed ascetics represent the highest ethical
ideal among the Jains of rural Rajasthan. They renounce family,
belongings, and desires in order to lead lives of complete
non-violence. In their communities, Jain ascetics play key roles as
teachers and exemplars of the truth; they are embodiments of the
"lokottar" - the realm of the transcendent.
Based on thirteen months of fieldwork in the town of Ladnun,
Rajasthan, India, among a community of Terapanthi Svetambar Jains,
this book explores the many facets of what constitutes a moral life
within the Terapanthi ascetic community, and examines the central
role ascetics play in upholding the Jain moral order. Focussing on
the Terapanthi moral universe from the perspective of female
renouncers, Vallely considers how Terapanthi Jain women create
their own ascetic subjectivities, and how they construct and
understand themselves as symbols of renunciation. The first
in-depth ethnographic study of this important and influential Jain
tradition, this work makes a significant contribution to Jain
studies, comparative religion, Indian studies, and the anthropology
of South Asian religion.
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