Gārgī Vāchaknavī
Gargi Vachaknavi ; Gārgī Vācaknavī ) was an ancient Hindu sage and philosopher. In Vedic literature, she is honoured as a great natural philosopher, renowned expounder of the Vedas, and known as Brahmavadini, a person with knowledge of Brahma Vidya. In the Sixth and the eighth Brahmana of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, her name is prominent as she participates in the brahmayajna, a philosophic debate organized by King Janaka of Videha, during which she challenges the sage Yajnavalkya with perplexing questions on the issue of atman. She remained celibate all her life and was venerated by Hindus.
Gargi, the daughter of the sage Vachaknu from the lineage of the sage Garga, was named after her father Gargi Vachaknavi. From a young age, she evinced a keen interest in Vedic scriptures and became very proficient in fields of philosophy. She became highly knowledgeable in the Vedas and Upanishads in the Vedic times and held intellectual debates with other philosophers.
Early life
Gargi was the daughter of the sage Vachaknu from the lineage of the sage Garga, and was hence named after her father. From a young age, Vachaknavi was very intellectual, acquiring knowledge of the Vedas and scriptures.Later life
Gargi, alongside Vadava Pratitheyi and Sulabha Maitreyi, was one of the most prominent women of the Upanishads. She was as knowledgeable in Vedas and Upanishads as men of the Vedic times and could very well contest the male-philosophers in debates. Her name appears in the Grihya Sutras of Asvalayana. She was a leading scholar who also made rich contributions to propagate education.Debate with Yajnavalkya
According to the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, King Janaka of Videha Kingdom held a Rajasuya Yagna and invited all the sages, kings, and princes of India to participate. The yagna lasted for many days, and large quantities of sandalwood, ghee and barley were offered to the Yagna fire to create an atmosphere of spiritual sanctity and aroma. Janaka, himself a scholar, was impressed with the large gathering of sages, and wanted to find the scholar among them who had the most knowledge of Brahman. He stated that he would give a prize of 1,000 cows, each carrying 10 grams of gold, to this scholar. Among the scholars present were Yajnavalkya and Gargi Vachaknavi. Yajnavalkya believed he was the most advanced of those present due to his mastery of Kundalini Yoga, and ordered his disciple Samsrava to lead the cow herd to his house. Before he could do so, eight sages including Vachaknavi challenged him to a debate. Shyam Ranganathan notes that Gargi was the only interlocutor to challenge Yajnavalkya twice during the dialogue.Sages like Asvala, Janaka's priest, Artabhaga, Bhujyu, Ushasta, and Uddalaka debated with and lost to Yajnavalkya. It was then the turn of Gargi to take up the challenge. Gargi then questioned Yajnavalkya on his claim of superiority among the scholars, and they began debating him. Gargi and Yajnavalkya's exchange centred on the ultimate "warp" of reality. Her initial dialogue with Yajnavalkya addressed metaphysical questions such as the unending status of the soul. She then asked him, "since this whole world is woven back and forth on water, on what then is it woven back and forth", a question addressing the commonly known cosmological metaphor that expressed the essential interconnectedness of the world. In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, she asks Yajnavalkya a series of questions that are answered thus:
She continued with further questions, such as what was the universe of the suns, what were the moon, the stars, the gods, Indra, and Prajapati. Gargi then urged Yajnavalkya to enlighten her on the weave of reality and asked:
Gargi, unsatisfied, posed the next question:
Then she asked a final question, asking what Brahman was. Yagnavalakya then ended the debate by telling Gargi not to proceed further, lest she lose her mental balance. This ended their debate, and she conceded to Yajnavalkya's superior knowledge, stating: "venerable Brahmins, you may consider it a great thing if you get off bowing before him. No one, I believe, will defeat him in any argument concerning Brahman."
Her philosophical views were also mentioned in the Chandogya Upanishad. Gargi was honoured as one of the Navaratnas in the court of King Janaka of Mithila.