Grammatical Analysis
Therīgāthā: [f.] Verses of the Elder Nuns. Formed by therī (elder nun) + gāthā (verse, poem).
Orthodox Definition
The Therīgāthā is the ninth book of the Khuddaka Nikāya. It contains 522 verses spoken by 73 fully enlightened female disciples (Arahats).
It is widely considered one of the oldest collections of women’s literature in the world. Like the Theragāthā, these are triumphant poems of liberation. The nuns recount their past sufferings—loss of children, domestic abuse, prostitution, the physical decay of aging, and the heavy burdens of the household life—and how the Dhamma provided them with absolute freedom.
The text serves as the ultimate canonical proof of the Theravāda doctrine that women possess the exact same spiritual capacity to achieve Arahatship as men, experiencing the identical taste of liberation.
Textual References
- Canonical: Paṭācārātherīgāthā – The heartbreaking yet triumphant verses of a woman who went mad after losing her entire family, regained her sanity through the Buddha, and attained Arahatship while watching water wash over the earth.
- Canonical: Ambapālītherīgāthā – The former famous courtesan ruthlessly dissects the impermanence of her once-beautiful body.
- Commentary: Paramatthadīpanī – The vital commentary that preserves the life stories of these great female saints.