Pronounced — Gārgī Vāchaknavī
Roughly dated back to 800–500 BCE, Gargi was born as an intellectual prodigy to the sage Vachaknu. She was born into a lineage of sages and was named after her ancestor, Sage Garga.
She was a young scholar of some of the most sacred Vedic texts, like the Vedas. The beauty of the Vedas is that one can say that a person was a scholar of the text and also say that they contributed to the text itself. Because that’s what Gargi did. She contributed some of her mantras to the Rig Veda, the very text she was a scholar of.
She is well known to have been in intellectual debates with other philosophers (primarily males) and is believed to have been celibate her entire life. She was a woman in a male-dominated field back in 800 BCE. You can even call her the earliest known evidence of a “woman in STEM,” for the underlying nature of the Vedas is science and math.
Back in the day, rulers would arrange debates between some of the most revered scholars on complex philosophical and scientific ideas, the winner of which would be accepted as the Guru of the ruler in leading a path towards enlightenment. One such discussion was held by King Janaka of the Videha dynasty in the Mithila region. Janaka himself was a very spiritually inclined being, constantly contemplating the nature of consciousness. There’s a very interesting story about it with the sage Ashtavakra Muni, which you can read about if you're interested to know more. He invited various scholars for the debate and offered a prize of 1,000 cows with horns of gold to the sage who was spiritually most knowledgeable. The great sage, Yāgñavalkya, a renowned scholar in Vedic texts and a master of Kundalini Yoga, decided to participate, confident that he would emerge victorious. Only about 8 other sages participated in challenging the great sage, one of whom was Gargi, the only woman in the crowd.
Some of the back-and-forth discussion between the other sages and Yajnyavalkya has been documented in the Brhadarankyaka Upanishad. I’m going to talk about some of the points discussed between Gargi and Yāgñavalkya involving the nature of Brahman and the fabric of reality.
She stood up and asked:
Gargi - “Yāgñavalkya, iti hovāca, yad idaṁ sarvam apsv otaṁ ca protaṁ ca, kasmin nu khalv āpa otāś ca protāś ceti”: If the concept of Earth exists within the nature of water, making the latter superior to the former, then what does water exist within?
Yāgñavalkya - “Vāyau”: The Air principle is superior because it is precedes the manifestation of the Water principle in the process of creation.
Gargi - “Kasmin nu khalu vāyur, otaś ca protaś ceti”: In what is Vāyu (air) woven like warp and woof? What is its source?
Yāgñavalkya -“Antarikṣa-lokeṣu, gārgi, iti”: The atmospheric world, Gargi.
Gargi -“Kasmin nu khalu candra-lokā otāś ca protāś ceti”: Where is this sky, the atmospheric region, located and where is it centred, to which it can be referred?
Yāgñavalkya -“Gandharva-lokeṣu gārgi, iti”: In the world of Gandharvas.
Gargi -“Kasmin nu khalu gandharvaloka otas ca protas ceti”: And where is the Gandharva Loka located?
Yāgñavalkya -“Āditya-lokeṣu, gārgi, iti”: The region of the sun.
Gargi - “Kasmin nu khalv antarikṣa-lokā otāś ca protāś ceti”: Where is this solar region / space located?
Yāgñavalkya - “Candralokeṣu, gārgi, iti”: The region of the moon (not the same as the physical moon orbitting the earth, but the original condition of the planetary substance from which all the stellar regions can be said to have come out as effects from the cause. They are called Chandra-lokās because they are eternal in nature and not solid masses or orbs shining like the stellar region).
Gargi - “Kasmin nu khalu candra-lokā otāś ca protāś ceti”: Where are these located, ultimately?
Yāgñavalkya - “Nakṣatra-lokeṣu, gārgi, iti”: The region of the stars.
Gargi -“Kasmin nu khalu nakṣatra-lokā otāś ca protāś ceti”: Where are the stars located, ultimately?
Yāgñavalkya - “Deva-lokeṣu, gārgi, iti”: Deva-lokā, or the celestial paradise.
Gargi - “Kasmin nu khalu deva-lokā otāś ca protāś ceti”: Where is, again, the Deva-lokā, or the world of the Gods woven, like warp and woof?
Yāgñavalkya - “Indra-lokeṣu, gārgi, iti”: Indra-lokā, the world of the ruler of the celestials.
Gargi - “Kasmin nu khalu prajā-pati-lokā otāś ca protāś ceti”: Where is the Indra-lokā located.
Yāgñavalkya -“Praja-pati-lokeṣu, gārgi, iti”: It is subsequent to Prajāpati-lokā. It is identifiable with Virāt Himself. Virāt is the Supreme Power of all the worlds, Indra-lokā and everything downwards.
Gargi - “Kasmin nu khalu indra-lokā otāś ca protāś ceti”: How can you say that it is the ultimate? Is there nothing beyond it
Yāgñavalkya -“Brahma-lokeṣu, gārgi, iti”: The world of Hiraṇyagarbha (“the cosmic egg”, a metophor used to indicate the entirety of the universe) is Brahma-lokā. Everything is strung in this Ultimate Being. Therefore, it is called SūtraĀtman. Sūtra is a string. As beads are strung on a thread, so is everything that is created hanging, strung, on this thread of the Cosmos, or the Sūtra-Ātman, Brahma, or Hiraṇyagarbha.
Gargi - “Kasmin nu khalu brahma lokā otās ca protāś ceti”: Where is this Brahma-lokā located? The Supreme Hiraṇyagarbha is the source and the cause of everything, you say. Who is the cause of this?
Yāgñavalkya - “Sa hovāca, gārgi, mātiprākṣīh”: You are asking too much. You should not ask such questions of this kind. If you ask too much, your head will fall down. So, do not go beyond permissible limits of logical argument, because it is inadmissible to ask the cause of the cause of everything. You are asking for the cause of the Supreme Cause. Such a question is meaningless.
After this, Gargi accepted her defeat on the matter and went back to listening to the other scholars. After a couple of other discourses involving the nature of Brahman, Gargi stands up once again to question Yāgñavalkya, but before doing that, she tells the other sages that if the great sage is able to answer 2 of her questions, there is no need to continue the discourse as Yāgñavalkya emerges as the most knowledgeable person there.
She stands up and asks him:
Gargi -
“sa hovāca: yad ῡrdhvam, yājñavalkya”: Yājñavalkya; that which is above the heaven
“yad avāk pṛthivyāḥ,”: that which is below the earth
“yad antarā dyāvāpṛthivī”: that which is between the earth and the heaven
“ime, yad bhῡtaṁ ca bhavac ca bhaviṣyac cety ācakṣate;” : that which is identical with whatever was, identical with whatever is and also identical with whatever will be
“kasmiṁs tad otaṁ ca protaṁ ceti”: in what is this peculiar thing rooted and founded?
Yāgñavalkya -“sa hovāca: yad ῡrdhvam, gārgi, divaḥ, yad avāk pṛthivyāḥ, yad antarā dyāvāpṛthivī ime, yad bhῡtaṁ ca bhavac ca bhaviṣyac cety ācakṣate; ākāśe tad otaṁ ca protaṁ ceti.”: This ethereal essence doesn’t possess the characteristics of pervasive objects; it is even more subtle than what pervades. What you refer to as above, below, in-between, past, present, and future is rooted in an undifferentiated substrate. This undifferentiated reality can be labeled as an unmanifest ether, distinct from physical ether — Avyākrita ākāṣa.
Gargi then, satisfied with the first answer, asks him the second question:
Gargi -“sa hovāca: yad ῡrdhvam, gārgī, divaḥ, yad avāk pṛthivyāḥ, yad antarā dyāvāpṛthivī ime, yad bhῡtaṁ ca bhavac ca bhaviṣyac cety ācakṣate ākāśā eva tad otaṁ ca protaṁ ceti; kasmin nu khalv ākāśā otaś ca protaś ceti.”: This ‘Sūtra’, or the thread in which everything is strung, is that which is above and below and between and it is the past, present and future. It is rooted in something. That something is an indescribable, unmodified and homogeneous substance, in what is that rooted? Does it have some foundation?
Yāgñavalkya then proceeds to give a detailed explanation for the question put forth, which I have summarized below:
The foundation of reality, the Absolute, is described by Yājñavalkya as imperishable and beyond description. It is the ultimate answer to all questions, transcending all thought and speech. This Absolute is neither gross nor subtle, as it is inseparable from everything. It has no dimensions, color, or connection to anything, standing independently. It cannot be the cause of anything and does not cast a shadow. It is the utmost brilliance, beyond space and time, and is not an object to anyone. This mysterious, unmanifested substratum is the Para Brahman, the Absolute, and encompasses all.
After which, Gargi humbly accepted her defeat in front of the ocean of knowledge of the great sage.
Source credit for the verses and translation: Brhadaranyaka Upanishad by Swami Krishnananda
This unpretentious acceptance of her defeat indicates one thing about the nature of philosophers. They are genuinely pursuing the truth. They wouldn’t be bothered if their egos were impacted by this defeat or insult in any manner. They serenely embrace your words if they resonate with the truth, a practice that we all need, to be capable of transcending Maya (illusion) as we seek the ultimate truth.
