The topic of Malli and gender occupies a distinctive place in Jain studies because it intersects hagiography, sectarian history, manuscript traditions, and debates about the interpretation of primary Prakrit and SanskritDraft overviewSanskritSanskrit is an Indo‑Aryan language with a documented history extending more than three millennia, forming one of the principal classical languages of South Asia. Within Jain studies, Sanskrit occupies a dual position: it… sources. Malli (Malli-nātha, Malli-deva) is recognized across Jain traditions as the 19th Tīrthaṅkara of the current avasarpinī. The central question concerns Malli’s gender: Digambara tradition consistently presents Malli as male, while Śvetāmbara Mūrti-pūjaka and Sthānakavāsī traditions present Malli as female, often described as Mallī Devī. This divergence is not merely narrativeDraft overviewNarrativeIn Jain studies, the term “narrative” refers to the broad category of stories, accounts, and illustrative episodes used across Śvetāmbara, Digambara, and other Jain traditions to convey ethical principles, cosmological s…; it reflects deeper doctrinal commitments about embodiment, karma, and liberation.
In Śvetāmbara sources, Mallī Devī’s female embodiment is treated as historically real and spiritually significant. The Śvetāmbara canonical corpus (Āgamas) and later narrativeDraft overviewNarrativeIn Jain studies, the term “narrative” refers to the broad category of stories, accounts, and illustrative episodes used across Śvetāmbara, Digambara, and other Jain traditions to convey ethical principles, cosmological s… texts describe Mallī as a princess who attains kevala-jñāna and becomes a Tīrthaṅkara. Śvetāmbara commentators emphasize that omniscienceDraft overviewOmniscienceIn Jain philosophy, **omniscience (kevala‑jñāna)** is the perfected state of knowledge attained by an *arihant* or *kevalin* who has completely eliminated the obscuring karmas. It is not merely vast knowledge but the tot… and liberation are accessible to all genders, and Mallī Devī serves as a paradigmatic example. In contrast, Digambara doctrine maintains that women cannot attain kevala-jñāna or mokṣa in a female body due to specific karmic and bodily constraints described in Digambara śāstras. Therefore, Digambara texts uniformly identify Malli as male.
Modern scholarship (C-tier) highlights that the divergence appears by the early medieval period, with manuscript evidence showing stable sectarian positions. Both traditions agree on Malli’s spiritual status as a Tīrthaṅkara but differ on the narrativeDraft overviewNarrativeIn Jain studies, the term “narrative” refers to the broad category of stories, accounts, and illustrative episodes used across Śvetāmbara, Digambara, and other Jain traditions to convey ethical principles, cosmological s… and doctrinal framing of gender. The topic remains an important case studyDraft overviewStudyIn Jain traditions, “study” (śruta‑adhyayana) refers to the disciplined engagement with scriptures, commentaries, and ethical teachings as a core component of right knowledge (samyag‑jñāna). Across Digambara and Śvetāmba… in comparative Jain traditions, illustrating how doctrinal commitments shape hagiography and how gender is understood within Jain soteriology.