Chandabai

Pandita Brahmacharini Chandabai (1880–1977) was a Jain scholar and a pioneer of women's education in India. She was the founder of the oldest women's publication in India that is still published, Jain Mahiladarsh.

Family

The daughter of Narayandas Agrwal of Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, a prominent citizen and a proponent of Indian's independence, she was married at the age of 11 to Dharmakumar, the 18-year-old grandson of the zamindar and scholar Prabhudas Jain of Arrah. Dharmakumar died the next year. His older brother, Devkumar Jain, himself a Jain scholar, encourage Chandabai to study, which was uncommon in that period.

Overview

Chandabai studied the classical subjects including Sanskrit, Prakrit, dharmaśāstra, nyāya (logic), literature and grammar. She earned the title "pandita" from Kashi. She was a good orator, she gave her first speech at Panipat during a Panch-kalyanak Pratishtha at the age of 17.

She established a school for girls in 1907, which came to be known as the Jain Balasharm in 1921. Dr. Nemichandra Jyotishacharya, who later emerged as a major Jain scholar, was appointed by her to be the director of the Balasharm in 1939. During the interview, she asked him questions on Sanskrit and Prakrit texts such as Devagama Stotra, Atmanushasana, and Gommatsar Jivakanda.