Jain elders have envisaged society as a fourfold division (caturvidhasaṅgha), comprising (1) female ascetics or mendicants and (2) female lay followers (sādhvīs and śrāvikās, respectively), alongside (3) male ascetics or mendicants and (4) male householders (sādhus [or munis] and śrāvakas, respectively). This foundational ideal then opens up two paths for Jain w…