name 64 kalas thought by rushabdev
Rushabhdev (Rishabhanatha) is traditionally said to have taught 72 arts to men and 64 kalās (crafts/arts) to women. The exact listing of all 64 kalās varies between Digambar and Śvetāmbar traditions, so the enumerations are not completely fixed in one single text. What is agreed is the idea: he laid down a broad set of arts and crafts to guide social and cultural life.
Below are the kalās that some sources explicitly enumerate as part of the 64 for women (numbers 50–64). This gives a sense of the kinds of crafts included; the remaining 1–49 items are listed differently in various traditions.
- 50. Vastra gopana – Concealment/handling of clothing
- 51. Dyūta-viśeṣa – Mastery of gambling
- 52. Ākarṣa-kṛīḍā – Playing with dice or magnets
- 53. Bālaka-kṛīḍanaka – Making toys
- 54. Vainayikī vidyā – Teaching discipline
- 55. Vaijayikī vidyā – Military strategy or achieving victory
- 56. Vaitālikī vidyā – Waking someone with music
- 57. Kushalata – Skillfulness in various tasks
- 58. Hasta laghavam – Sleight of hand
- 59. Chitrayoga – Making decorations/paintings
- 60. Malya grathana – Garland making
- 61. Manibandh vidya – Making bracelets
- 62. Sharira madhya – Beautifying the body
- 63. Chitra shala – Painting galleries
- 64. Vastra rachanam – Designing clothes
Note: these items are given to illustrate the nature of the 64 kalās and show the kind of crafts included. The complete 64 list, and which items appear in which order, differ between sources in the Digambar and Śvetāmbara traditions.
You can read more about the discussion of Rushabhdev’s 64 kalās on JainKnowledge pages: