Written by Bhu__2007

Daughter of sage Vachaknu, a natural philosopher, a renowned expounder of the Vedas, a Brahmavadini, the first female guru of her times, a person who was striving to show female power to the world. GARGI VACHAKNAVI!

Born to Sage Vachaknu in the lineage of Sage of Garga, she was named after her father as Gargi Vachaknavi. From a very young age, she developed keen interest in Vedic scriptures and became very proficient in Philosophy. She acquired knowledge in the Vedas, Upanishads and other scripture that she even passed men in her knowledge!

She is even honoured in Vedic literature as not only an active supporter of the Vedas but someone who is naturally a great philosopher and was even granted the title of Brahmavadini which means someone with knowledge Brahma Vidya. Gargi is said to have done the impossible: she had even managed to awaken her (indwelling spiritual energy) and realized the existence of the soul or aatma.

So, what happened when there was a battle between Rishika Gargi and one of the most learned men of her time?

King Janaka of Videha kingdom held a Rajasuya Yagna where he invited all learned scholars of his time. The Yagna was a magnanimous one with over-the-top arrangements. Janaka, being a learned man himself, thought of selecting a scholar from the assembled group of elite scholars who would have the most in-depth knowledge about Brahman and was thus the most accomplished.

Amongst these scholars were our very own Gargi Vachaknavi and another noted sage named Yajnavalkya. Yajnavalkya, self-assured in his supremacy, ordered his disciple to take the cow herd to his house since there was no other scholar who could beat him. This resulted in other scholars getting angry at being denied a fair chance at the prize.

Most of the scholars were unsure of their knowledge, however, there were eight distinguished sages who did challenge him to a debate, of which Gargi was one of the challengers and perhaps the only woman among the group of learned scholars. Sages like Asvala, Artabhaga, Bhujyu, Ushasta contested with him and lost as Yajnavalkya was able to provide satisfactory answers to all of their questions.

Gargi then questioned Yajnavalkya on his claim of superiority among the scholars. Her initial dialogue with Yajnavalkya bordered on being quite metaphysical but she eventually changed her course and asked him specific questions related to the environment existing in the world, the question of the very origin of all existence and more.

In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the debate is narrated as:

"On air, Gargi.
On What, then, is air woven back and forth? On the intermediate regions, Gargi.
On what, then, are the worlds of the intermediate regions woven back and forth.
On the worlds of the Gandharvas, Gargi"

Yajnavalakya put an end to the debate by telling Gargi not to proceed further as otherwise she would lose her mental balance.

It is not clear who won the debate. Some sources say that Gargi acknowledged Yajnavalkya's greatness but such an ending could very well be manipulated.

Gargi was honoured as one of the Navratnas in the court of King Janaka of Mithila. Her philosophical views are mentioned in the Chandoga Upanishads and she has made significant contributions to the construction of the Rig Veda.

A/N: Standing up in a male dominated society needs courage. And Gargi Vachaknavi had the courage and stood against all the odds of the society. It's always easy to follow someone, but standing on your own is the hard path and if one succeeds in it, they are the winners of the life. Always RISE AND SHINE and show everyone the REAL POWER OF WOMEN!

27th January 2021
Wednesday