Sage Brahmavadhini Gargi
Sage Brahmavadhini Gargi
We saw the story of Anusuya and
Arundhati. (https://bharatiyastories.blogspot.com/2024/05/anusuya-and-trimurtis.html; https://bharatiyastories.blogspot.com/2024/05/arundhati.html) and Lopamudra (https://bharatiyastories.blogspot.com/2024/05/lopamudra-and-agasthya.html.)
We saw the lives of the women
sages Anusuya, Aundhati and Lopamudra. Each of these women are known for their
wisdom and knowledge. They were Rishipathnis but also more. That does not mean
that they played second fiddle to their well known and learned husbands.
Gargi was a religious
philosopher and proponent of the Vedas. She was well known during her times as
a public debater on Vedic and Upanishadic concepts. Another interesting aspect
of Gargi seems to be that she is mentioned as a sage in her own right and not
referred to as anyone’s wife. She is believed to have remained a celibate all
her life.
Who was Gargi? What do we know
of her? Let us understand and celebrate this great woman.
Gargi was the daughter of Sage
Vachaknu and was born in the lineage of Sage Garga (800- 500 BCE). She was
named Gargi Vachaknavi in honour of her illustrious ancestors. Gargi was
interested in religion, philosophy and the scriptures from a very young age.
She was adept at learning and interpreting complex texts.
Gargi’s mother was worried to
see her daughter get immersed in the study of religion and philosophy. She
wanted her daughter to marry and set up a home like other women of her age.
Gargi’s mother had also experienced first hand that too much immersion in
religion and philosophy made a person very impractical in day-to-day life.
(Perhaps the lady had difficulty in running the home while her husband Sage
Vachaknu was pursuing philosophy and scriptures.
Anyway, Gargi was quite firm in
her pursuit of knowledge. She chose the difficult path of following her
interests in the study of Vedic scriptures and philosophy. She was endowed with
a sharp intellect and became very proficient in all the four Vedas.
Her depth of knowledge and
clarity was well known amongst the scholars of her time. She was also not shy
to debate her ideas on interpretations of the Vedas and Vedic philosophies with
others including her male peers. Like Lopamudra she had contributed to some of
the hymns of the RigVeda. Gargi’s views on philosophy are considered exalted
and finds a mention in the Chandogya Upanishad.
Gargi was known as one of the Brahmavadhinis
of the Vedic age. Brahmavadini is a title that was given to women who were well
versed in the scriptures and were capable of defending their ideas in public
debates. (On the other hand, the wife of a sage or a brahmin who supports him
in his duties is called as a Sadyovadhu.)
An interesting incident in
Gargi’s life finds mention in the Brhadaranya Upanishad and helps to understand
the standing she had amongst her peer groups. This was the debate between Gargi
and Sage Yājñavalkya.
King Janaka himself was a
philosopher king who was an ascetic and very knowledgeable in the Vedas and the
scriptures. King Janaka had a very learned advisor – Sage Yangavalkya. Hence this
particular debate was considered special and prestigious.
To make matters interesting and
challenging, King Janaka announced a reward of 1000 cows with an additional
reward of 10 Pādas (One Pādas is roughly 9 grams) of gold tied to the horns of each
of these cows for the winner of the debate. So, what was the debate about?
Simple.
King Janaka just said “Revered Brāhmaṇas, let him who is the
best Vedic scholar among you drive these cows (home)”. The challenge was
perhaps so simple that anyone and no one in that gathering can fit the
description.
So, the debate began. First a vedic
priest by name Asvala debated with Yājñavalkya. After convincingly debating
with him, Yājñavalkya answered the questions raised by Artabhaga, Bhujyu,
Ushasta, Kahola, Uddalaka and Vidagdha.
Gargi questioned Yājñavalkya second time.
(https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/the-brihadaranyaka-upanishad/d/doc118359.html ) This time she asked two questions. But,
before she asked the questions, she informed the gathering that “I shall ask
him two questions. If Yājñavalkya is
able to reply to these two questions, then none of you can possibly win him in
his understanding of Brahman.” The gathering agreed with her.
Gargi then asked her questions of
Yajnvalkya and he answered them convincingly. Gargi declared to the gathering “Revered Brāhmaṇas,
listen to my words. You should consider
yourselves fortunate if you can get an acknowledgement from Yājñavalkya,
through salutations, by saluting
him. You must never even think of defeating him, much less do it. Why?
Because never shall any of you beat him, Yājñavalkya,
in describing Brahman. I already
said that if he answered my two questions, none could beat him. I still have
the conviction that in describing Brahman he has no match.’ (Verse
3.8.12 of the Brhadaranya Upansishad)
The debate was a long one. Finally,
Yājñavalkya said if the scholars still wanted to debate, he could ask them the
questions and they can reply. No one volunteered.
This interesting incident shows that (a)
the dignity and decorum maintained during debates while being competitive; (b)
the pursuit of knowledge and learning was the primary objective; (c) the
respect for the decision of learned women who could decide on the winner of
such a complex debate.
The wisdom and knowledge of Gargi and
the respect she commanded amongst her peers is well established through this
incident. She was known as one of the Navarathnas in the court of King Janaka.
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