Women in Vedic Period: Ghosha, Lopamudra, Maitreyi & Gargi YouTube Lecture Handouts

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Women in Vedic Period: Ghosha, Lopamudra, Maitreyi & Gargi|Indian Philosophy|NET Paper 1

Title: Women in Vedic Period Ghosha, Lopamudra, Maitreyi & Gargi

  • Female Rishis (Rishikas) of about 30 of them are named in the Rig Veda. Lopamudra was the wife of Agasthya, known for his command over Sanskrit and Tamil. The meaning of the word “Lopamudhra” is one, who is totally absorbed in herself (i-e) . , she is one of the Brahmavadhini Rshi-patnis. Two manthras of the Rg Vedam (Canto I.179.1 - 2) are attributed to her There were women scholars like Visvavara, Ghosha, Sikata, Nivavari and Apala.
  • Roamasa the wife of Svanya Visvavara belonging to the Athri family AangirasI Sarasvathi of Angirasa family Apala of the Athri family Yami Vaivasvathi, Sraddha, Vasukra pathni, Ghosha, Soorya, Indrani, Urvasi, Sarama, Joohu, Vagambhruni and Poulomi Sachi are well known women, who are revered and are associated with individual Rig Veda Manthras.
  • Brahma Jnana can be attained in any stage:
    • Gargi got it in the BRAHMACHARYA stage.
    • Choodaala attained it while a GRIHASTHA.
    • Maitreyi attained it while in the VANAPRASTHA stage of life.
    • Sulabhayogini won it while a SANYASINI.

Ghosha

  • Granddaughter of Dirghatamas
  • Daughter of Kakshivat
  • Hymns for Ashwins
  • Leprosy
  • Vedic wisdom is encapsulated in myriad hymns and 27 women-seers emerge from them. But most of them are mere abstractions except for a few, such as Ghosha, who has a definite human form.
  • Granddaughter of Dirghatamas
  • Daughter of Kakshivat, both composers of hymns in praise of Ashwins
  • Inheriting her father՚s talent, Ghosha composed two hymns (containing 28 verses in total) dedicated to Ashwin Kumar, the twin gods of health and healing.
  • Ghosha has two entire hymns of the tenth book, each containing 14 verses, assigned to her name. The first eulogizes the Ashwins, the heavenly twins who are also physicians; the second is a personal wish expressing her intimate feelings and desires for married life.
  • Ghosha suffered from an incurable disfiguring disease, probably leprosy, and remained a spinster at her father՚s house. Her implorations with the Ashwins, and the devotion of her forefathers towards them made them cure her disease and allow her to experience wedded bliss.

Lopamudra

Wife of Agasthya

Sanskrit & Tamil

Son was Dridhasyu

  • Lopamudra was the wife of Agasthya, known for his command over Sanskrit and Tamil. The meaning of the word “Lopamudhra” is one, who is totally absorbed in herself (i-e) . , she is one of the Brahmavadhini Rshi-patnis. Two manthras of the Rg Vedam (Canto I.179.1 - 2) are attributed to her
  • The Rig Veda ( ‘Royal Knowledge’ ) has long conversations between the sage Agasthya and his wife Lopamudra that testifies to the great intelligence and goodness of the latter. As the legend goes, Lopamudra was created by sage Agasthya and was given as a daughter to the King of Vidarbha. The royal couple gave her the best possible education and brought her up amidst luxury. When she attained a marriageable age, Agasthya, the sage who was under vows of celibacy and poverty, wanted to own her. Lopa agreed to marry him, and left her palace for Agasthya՚s hermitage.
  • After serving her husband faithfully for a long period, Lopa grew tired of his austere practices. She wrote a hymn of two stanzas making an impassioned plea for his attention and love. Soon afterwards, the sage realized his duties towards his wife and performed both his domestic and ascetic life with equal zeal, reaching a wholeness of spiritual and physical powers. A son was born to them. He was named Dridhasyu, who later became a great poet.

Maitreyi

Illustration: Maitreyi
  • The Rig Veda contains about one thousand hymns, of which about 10 are accredited to Maitreyi, the woman seer and philosopher. She contributed towards the enhancement of her sage-husband Yajnavalkya՚s personality and the flowering of his spiritual thoughts. Yajnavalkya had two wives Maitreyi and Katyayani.
  • While Maitreyi was well versed in the Hindu scriptures and was a ‘brahmavadini’ , Katyayani was an ordinary woman. One day the sage decided to make a settlement of his worldly possessions between his two wives and renounce the world by taking up ascetic vows. He asked his wives their wishes.
  • The learned Maitreyi asked her husband if all the wealth in the world would make her immortal. The sage replied that wealth could only make one rich, nothing else. She then asked for the wealth of immortality. Yajnavalkya was happy to hear this, and imparted Maitreyi the doctrine of the soul and his knowledge of attaining immortality.
  • The Upanishads refer to the conversation between Maitreyi and her husband Yajnavalkaya.

Gargi

Challenged Yajnavalkya

  • Gargi was one of the learned persons summoned by king Janaka
  • Gargi, the Vedic prophetess and daughter of sage Vachaknu, composed several hymns that questioned the origin of all existence. When King Janak of Videha organized a ‘brahmayajna’ , a philosophic congress centered around the fire sacrament, Gargi was one of the eminent participants. She challenged the sage Yajnavalkya with a volley of perturbing questions on the soul or ‘atman’ that confounded the learned man who had till then silenced many an eminent scholar.
  • Her question - “The layer that is above the sky and below the earth, which is described as being situated between the earth and the sky and which is indicated as the symbol of the past, present and future, where is that situated?” - flattened even the great Vedic men of letters.

Manishika