- Know about the nature of contribution of
numerous Indian Women Scholars to Indian Knowledge Systems. Women names are Lopamudra,
Gargi, Maitreyi, Lilavati
and Khona. Not to forget Ubhaya Bharati and Lal Ded.
Modern-day feminism often reduces women’s issues to a simplistic binary of modernity vs tradition. Feminist scholarship is largely informed by the Western experience, where the origins of the feminist movement are typically associated with the women’s suffrage movement of the 19th century.
Thus, the struggle for women’s rights in the West is typically structured in linear fashion through the First Wave, Second Wave, Third Wave, and Fourth Wave feminism.
These categories are often uncritically mapped onto the Indian context, conveniently ignoring the non-Western world’s different set of realities. India never had a feminist movement of the type seen in the West. She has produced scholars and warriors alike. Read Yashomati, the first
Queen of Kashmir and Women Sants of Maharashtra
The narrative of women’s progress in India is not a linear one. Rather, it is characterized by a complex set of permutations and combinations across time- periods. Women in ancient India, especially during the early Vedic period, enjoyed considerable autonomy and actively contributed to the knowledge production economy.
Women Rishikas of participated in Shastrath
(intellectual debates and discourse based on Dharmic texts), contributed to the
Vedas and Upanishads, and were trailblazers in diverse fields of knowledge,
including philosophy, metaphysics, mathematics, Ayurveda, and astronomy.
Let us deep dive into the life stories and significant contributions of
some of these women scholars of ancient India. This article is not an
exhaustive list of women.
1. LOPAMUDRA
Lopamudra, the wife of Agastya Rishi, composed hymns in the Rigveda,
focusing on human well-being and spirituality.
Born and brought up in a royal family, Lopamudra renounced all royal
luxuries and riches after marrying Maharshi Agastya. She wore clothes made of
deerskin, tree bark and led an austere life in the tradition of sages.
Lopamudra is credited with composing a Rigvedic hymn, where she engages
in an intellectual debate with Agastya Rishi on the subject of marriage,
underscoring the primacy of mutual respect, understanding, and love in
nurturing marital vows.
Through one of her hymns, she also commented on the dynamics of
interconnectedness between material life and the spiritual world. Having
studied arts, philosophy, Vedic scriptures, arts, etc.
As a scholar, philosopher, and an epitome of the ideal wife, the life
and achievements of Lopamudra provide one a glimpse into the kind of feminism
that strives for harmony, balance, understanding, and empathy and is
characterized by a unique synthesis of love, devotion, compassion, and
intellect.
2. GARGI
Gargi is another celebrated woman achiever of ancient India. She
mastered Vedic philosophy and Hindu scriptures.
According to various accounts,
her knowledge outshone that of many of her male counterparts. Gargi Vachaknavi
lived around the 7th-8th century BCE. Born into a learned
Brahmin family, Gargi had access to education from a young age. Her father,
Vachaknu, was a scholar and sage. According to various accounts, Gargi received
extensive education in philosophy, Vedic literature, metaphysics, and spiritual
discourse.
Due to her extraordinary intellectual acumen and exceptionally
impressive logical reasoning and debating skills, Gargi was frequently invited
to prestigious intellectual gatherings. She participated in debates and
philosophical assemblies alongside her male counterparts.
She is remembered for her thought-provoking debates on philosophy and
metaphysics in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. Gargi is known for debating sage
Yajnavalkya on the philosophical subject of the material perspective that
informs reality. The debate delved into various aspects of the universe,
including the essence of reality and the origins of the universe from a
metaphysical perspective.
Gargi’s intellectual accomplishments reflected the prevailing scholarly discourse of those times, characterized by the vibrant intellectual and philosophical discussions one witnessed in the courts of ancient kings, particularly King Janaka of Videha.
3. MAITREYI
Maitreyi was another prominent woman philosopher who is said to have
lived around the 8th century BCE. Her name is mentioned in the
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.
Although little is known about her personal life, she is often described as one of the two wives of Rishi Yajnavalkya, a prominent figure in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. It is said that, unlike the sage’s other wife, who were immersed in domestic affairs, Maitreyi was inclined towards philosophical and scholarly discourse.
Like Gargi, Maitreyi too received an extensive education in philosophy,
Vedic literature, metaphysics, and Dharmic discourse.
She is known for her contributions to the philosophical discourse on
ideas concerning immortality and the dynamics of interconnectedness between the
material world and spiritual knowledge. Maitreyi is known for her philosophical
dialogue with her husband Yajnavalkya, which has been described
in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. The dialogue delves deep into complex
metaphysical subjects, including the nature of self (Atman), the ultimate
reality (Brahman), and the link between individual consciousness and universal
consciousness.
4. LILAVATI
Lilavati, known as the daughter of the mathematician Bhaskaracharya,
pursued mathematics under the mentorship of her father and excelled in the
subject, according to various accounts.
According to one of the stories, Lilavati’s father suggested to her that she take up mathematics when she was dealing with the untoward situation of her husband’s untimely demise. Bhaskaracharya’s (Bhaskara II) well-known treatise on mathematics, Lilavati (it is the first volume of his larger magnum
opus, the Siddhāntaśiromaṇi) is considered a tribute to Lilavati’s mathematical acumen, with many accounts suggesting that Lilavati was perhaps an active collaborator, as she featured prominently in many of her father’s mathematical verses.
Bhaskaracharya, a 12th-century Indian mathematician, presented solutions to many complex algebraic problems in his work Lilavati. According to scholars, the book is an implicit recognition of Lilavati’s mathematical genius and her keenness for learning.
According to the interpretations
of various scholars, the book represented the Guru-shishya relationship between
Lilavati and her father at a symbolic level, with the Shishya actively
participating in the solving of mathematical problems and the Guru recognizing
her aptitude.
5. KHONA
The story of Khona also features prominently in literature on the
subject, a woman astronomer from Bengal who is believed to have lived during
the 5th century CE.
According to various accounts, Khona was the daughter-in-law of the
astrologer Varahamihira. She is known for her sayings, which, according to
scholars, focus on empirical observations of nature, encompassing fields such
as agriculture, seasonal cycles, astronomy, and meteorology.
6. Ubhaya Bharati (wife of Mandana Mishra)
She lived in the 8th century and was the wife of scholar
Mandana Mishra whose debate with Sankara is well known. Source
T N Sethumadhavan ji wrote on the debate, “If I happen to be defeated in argument, I shall take to the life of Sanyasa. As requested by you let my wife, Ubhaya Bharati, be the judge for the contest.”
“At the end of a long period, Mandana Misra was almost ready to accept defeat, when his wife, Ubhaya Bharati, declared that in order to defeat a man in debate the opponent should also defeat his wife.”
Post Mandana defeat she wondered about herself. Sankara told her, “You will remain as Sarada Pitha. Sankara established a Pitha for her and invoked her presence there. Source
7. LAL DED, the
Kashmiri Yogini
Shonaleeka Kaul wrote, “Lalleshwari or Lal Ded (‘Granny Lal’). Though iconic in Kashmir, she is little known outside the Valley. This is despite the fact that the metaphysical tradition she represents - Shiva advaita or trans-sectarian monist consciousness – and some of its expressive forms share a good deal with other monist/gnostic traditions across India.”
References and also read
1. IJCRT.org
2. PoornaPranjma
3. Pragyata.com
4. IJFMR.com
5. eSamskriti
6. Five Elemental
Women
7. Unsung Women
Warriors
8. Who was Gargi
9. Women Sants of
Maharashtra
10. Lal Ded, the
Kashmiri Yogini
11. Women Gurus in
Hinduism
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