Living in the age of the millennials, it is impossible for you to not have been hit by the wave of feminism at least at some point of time in your life.

Feminism is everywhere and more importantly, skewed icons of feminism are omnipresent. An attention-seeking actress becomes the national icon of feminism and somebody’s stupid video of “my choice” becomes a feministic video.

In this mad world of bazaar mein bikta hua feminism, let me throw some light on an almost forgotten female mentioned profusely throughout Vedic literature: the venerable Rishi Gargi.

Who was Rishi Gargi?

Before I go into that, my sincere apologies for calling her ‘Rishi’ Gargi. Rishika would be the correct English for a female Rishi but then I doubt how many of us would interpret that as an address and not a name.

Here, let me point out how conveniently we have forgotten that Rishikas existed alongside Rishis in the Vedic ages and were many a time, more popular than their male counterparts.

Alas, the exemplary progress evident throughout the Old Vedic Age vanished into narrow realms of orthodox-ism in the Later Vedic Period.

But let’s come back to Rishi Gargi. Gargi Vachaknavi (born around c. 700 BCE) was named after father sage Vachaknu and was a renowned philosopher from ancient India.

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.

Yet, the above achievements are but trailers. Rishi(ka) Gargi is said to have done the impossible: she had even managed to awaken her Kundalini (indwelling spiritual energy) and realized the existence of the soul or aatma.

From a young age, she had shown a deep interest in Vedic scriptures and soon enough became an expert in fields of philosophy. Her knowledge of the Vedas and Upanishads was rivaled by few at the time.

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


Also read: Origin Of The 7 Swaras In Indian Classical Music


The epic debate with Yajnavalkya

[This part is primarily sourced from Wikipedia.]

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.

In order to carry out the selection, he planned to offer 1,000 cows with each cow’s horns dangling with about 10 grams of solid gold as a prize.

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.

Rishi Gargi
Artist impression of Rishi Gargi

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 change 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. 

A lesson or two to learn

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.

Unfortunately, in the face of modern-day skewed icons like Kangana Ranaut and Taylor Swift (?!), most people have forgotten this woman of sheer brilliance: a woman who was unparalleled by men of her times.

The basics of feminism lie in, equality and empowerment. Rishi Gargi is a very important lesson to all of us bra strap revolutionaries who shout at every occasion without never really uplifting ourselves.


Image credits: Google

Sources: Wikipedia,


You may also like to read:

“It’s Easy To Hook Up In Corporate, Many Women Are Eager”: Misuse Of Women’s Laws In India Explained

5 COMMENTS

  1. I f you do not know what exactly was the question that Devi Gargi asked that made Sage yagyavalkya angry it was the question on what was the composition of Brahma and MulAkshar and yagyavalkya said it was the ParBrahma it self, the latent singular soul of all eternal Universes and that’s when yagyavalkya says, Please do not proceed further or else you will loose your mental balance. However he still proceeds to provide her the answer as quoted in Brihadaranyak Upanisahd verses 3.8.9 and 3.8.10.

    It is very clear that there was an end to the debate. It was a debate for the sake of it. It was more of an education curve. Dont try to set an agenda using the name of devi gargi and sage yagyavalakya. You should not rely on wikipedia alone and do your own research. After telling Gargi to not proceed further yagyavalkya answers her question. It is there in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Shloka 3.8.9 – Yenaksharam Purusham Veda, Satyam Provach, Taam Tavtvato Brahmavidhyam, Athato Brahma Jigyasa | Om BrahmaVidapnoti Param, Satyam GyanmAnantam Brahma, Aksharat Sambhavitha Vishvam | Etasya Va Aksharasya Prashasane Gargi, SuryaChandramAsau Vidhrutau Tishthataha, Etasya Va Aksharasya Prashasane Gargi, DhyavaPruthivyau Vidhrute Tishthataha ||

    Then he proceeds in Shloka 3.8.10 – Yo Va EtadAksharam Gargi, Aviditva Asmad Lokat Praiti, Sah Kripana, Atha Ya Etad Aksharam Gargi, Viditva Asmad Lokat Praiti, Sah Brahmana ||

  2. Rishika Gargi accepted the defeat because she knew her question was wrong and it shows her greatness . Sage yagnavalkya gave satisfactory answers to why her question itself was flawed. As wrongly mentioned in Wikipedia he did not order his disciple to take the cows out of arrogance, he accepted that he was in dire need of the cows to support the education of his ashram and he is bound to answer all the questions as he had accepted the challenge.

  3. It is Sage Yagnavalkya who lost mental balance. Unable to answer Gargi’s probing the knowledge of Sage Yagnavalkya, chose easy way out making a vacuous statement . Gargi was graceful to accept defeat even though she did not loose the argument to protect the sage’s honour. This is similar to what most women allow men’s authority even though they are superior for practical reasons.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here