The Religious and Seductive Role of Women in the Early Buddhist Society: Evidence from Art and Literature

Abstract

This paper talks about the women's religious and seductive roles, how society welcomed them,
and how their contribution shaped society. This study discovers why women left the life of
comfort, leisure, and family to adopt the holy pathway of Sangha. We also explore the effects
of Buddha's teaching on treating women and how women's role as nuns, prostitutes, and
courtesans affects the specific era. However, the descriptive research method analyzes the preBuddhist and early Buddhist periods and the ancient and modern literary sources to
understand women's religious, seductive, and political roles and positions. An attempt has been
made using secondary data to identify Gandhāran Buddhist art to help us conclude and
distinguish women's roles and status discussed in this research. Even though women's groups
have undergone different progressive phases, each phase is better at recognizing women's
rights and importance in society. However, we still trail men personally and professionally.