Lzh Mi Bi Pm Pc 104Ordaining Married Girls Under Twelve
Pāli / Sanskrit:Ūnadvādasavassa-gihigata
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Explanation of the Ūnadvādasavassa-gihigata Sutta
On Allowing Married Girls Under Twelve to Go Forth
Background
In the early period of the Dharma, the Buddha established the Bhikkhunī Sangha to create an opportunity for liberation for women. However, receiving female Buddhists for study and practice required clear regulations concerning conditions and age, in order to protect both the Dharma and those who wished to go forth.
The Ūnadvādasavassa-gihigata Sutta is part of the Pāṭimokkha, the holy code within the Vinaya Piṭaka, specifically among the rules related to Pācittiya, faults requiring confession. It clearly identifies a special case: whether girls who are already married but not yet twelve years old may go forth, a matter that arose in the administration of the Sangha.
The historical context shows that in ancient India, early marriage was a social custom, and even very young girls could be married. This issue led to ecclesiastical legal questions: could a female who was married but not yet of age request to go forth without her husband’s consent? This concerns questions of legal rights, social status, and personal aspiration.
Main Content
This sutta states that a married woman who has not yet completed twelve years of age is not to be admitted into the Bhikkhunī Sangha without her husband’s permission. The age of twelve is regarded as an important boundary: the time at which a woman is considered to have reached an age at which she may exercise autonomy over her own decisions, including the decision to go forth.
If a bhikkhu or bhikkhunī violates this rule, that is, admits a married girl under twelve without permission, then that person commits a Pācittiya offense. This is one of the faults requiring confession before the Sangha.
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