The Significance of "Therigathas" in the History of Women's Writing Arushi Soam College

The Therigathas are essentially "Verses of The Elder Nuns", a seminal part of Buddhist scripture composed by the first nuns who joined the Buddhist sanga or formal religious community. This is a collection of short poems composed and eloquently recited by the earliest members of the sanga. These poems are considered the earliest voices of women emancipation. In these poems, the nuns recount their struggles and accomplishments.One of the most important thing is the fact that there was no concept of social stigma in the sanga, a fact that surfaces in many of the poems.

The Therigathas document the lifestyles of women contemporaneous to when this was written. It narrates the stories that are set in the landscape of the social settings that fostered such living conditions. One of the most interesting things about The Therigathas is how it links spirituality with feminism. It aims to help achieve emancipation by getting rid of material bonds. This facet of Buddhist thinking is central to our understanding of these poems as historically, Buddhism has allowed women into its fold, assimilating the marginalized. Nuns take a strong stand for liberation as they speak from their personal experiences and attempt to internalize the spiritual...