The First Female PolyPath
Lessons from Gargi Vachaknavi
In today’s polypathic feature, let’s travel back to ancient India, and learn about the very first woman scholar, philosopher and orator documented by (wo)mankind. After the deep dive on Da Vinci and his polypathic genius, I wanted to feature a mighty beacon who defied expectations and blazed her own trail in a world that often silenced women's voices.
Gargi Vachaknavi lived around the 7th century BCE in central India when many of the Upanishads were written, and when diverse school of Vedic thoughts flourished. While not much is written about Gargi, the little that we know about her is enough to amaze us and inspire us! Her relentless pursuit of knowledge, contribution to the Vedas and fearless nature make her an inspiring figure for PolyPaths of all genders.
Let’s dive into how she exemplified the different traits of a polypath –
Pursuit of Multiple Paths
Gargi was born in a family with a centuries-long lineage of sages. She is known for her profound philosophical inquiries and views which find mention in one of the oldest Indian scriptures of Chandogya Upanishad. Her paths of inquiry included spirituality, cosmology, epistemology, and metaphysics. Gargi has composed several hymns in Rigveda on those topics. She was also invited to give lectures in several Brahma Yagyas (scholarly conferences of those times) and was an exemplary orator. In fact, Vachaknavi itself translates as an expert navigator (Navi) of speech (Vacha).
In those times, ancient Indian philosophy evolved through scholarly discussions and debates, typically in the courts of wise kings. While obviously this was a male-dominated environment, we do find mention of a handful of women scholars in ancient texts who were able to make their mark. Gargi’s prowess was such that she was often invited to engage in rigorous debates with the leading (male) thinkers of her time. She was also recognized as one of the nine jewels in the court of King Janaka of Vaideha (father of Sita), and that served as another avenue for her intellectual growth.
Love of Learning
Once, King Janaka invited several learned scholars and seekers of knowledge to his court, and challenged them to a contest to determine the most learned person among them, offering the winner a thousand cows with their horns and hooves adorned with gold. The great sage, Yāgñavalkya, who was a master of Kundalini Yoga, was 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.
Gargi was fascinated by the origin of all existence, and that’s what she challenged the great sage with. She posed a series of questions, probing the nature of reality. She started with "What is the air and water made of?" then moving to "What is space made of?” and “What supports the very fabric of existence?". With each pointed question, she wanted to dig deeper. At one point, Yāgñavalkya got exasperated and almost asked Gargi to stop her inquiry!
But Gargi was not one to recede before quenching her curiosity and continued challenging the sage to delve deeper into his knowledge. Yāgñavalkya, in response, introduced the concept of "paramanu" – the indivisible, fundamental building block of the universe. Just for context, the atomic theory was scientifically put forth in the nineteenth century, about 2500 years after this debate! Here is a loose translation of what he spoke –
“The foundation of reality is imperishable, it 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.”Refusal of Traditional Roles
Gargi’s questions helped Yajnavalkya analyze and articulate his thoughts better. In research or at the frontier of knowledge, asking the right questions is often key to unlocking new knowledge. Gargi helped extract new insights from Yāgñavalkya through her fearless curiosity. This reminded me of research meetings during my PhD days with collaborators. They too consisted of back and forth questioning, challenging existing knowledge, sometimes exasperation but often joy of new ideas and new connections :)
Gargi's audacity to challenge a renowned sage in a public forum was in a way a declaration of her holistic identity. She refused to be confined by the traditional roles assigned to women in her era. Instead, she embraced the identity of a seeker of truth. She also publicly accepted her defeat and acknowledged that Yajnavalkya was the truly deserving recipient of King Janaka’s prize. While this shows Gargi’s humility, I feel that accepting defeat also demonstrates tremendous confidence, which perhaps came from her deep love for knowledge. Her intention was purely to seek knowledge and truth, beyond any ego.
As a woman in computer science and tech, I know firsthand that even today the quest for equality and search for diverse role models continues. Gargi is one such role model that will continue to serve as an icon for generations of girls to come :) And Gargi's brilliance lies not just in her scholarly prowess, but also in her open-mindedness, her willingness to challenge her own beliefs and embrace new perspectives. This, I believe, is the true hallmark of a PolyPath: dedication to lifelong learning, and a purposeful evolution of self in that process!
PS: Is there a discussion or a conversation in the recent past that changed your mind on something or gave you a new perspective?
References
[1] https://rishihood.edu.in/bramahcharini
[3] India Retold
Inspiring:)!