Gargi Vachaknavi
Gargi Vachaknavi (born about 700 BC) was an ancient Indian philosopher.
InVedic Literature, she is honored 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 and challenges the sage Yajnavalkya with perplexing questions on the issue
of atman (soul).
She
is also said to have written many hymns in the Rigveda.
She
remained a celibate all her life and was held in veneration by the conventionalHindus.
Gargi, the
daughter of sage Vachaknu in the lineage of sage Garga (800-500
BCE) was named after her father as Gargi Vachaknavi. From a young age she
evinced keen interest in Vedic scriptures and became very proficient in fields
of philosophy. She became highly
knowledgeable inVedas and
Upanishads in the Vedic times and held intellectual debates with the
male-philosophers.
Panchakanya
Panchakanya is a group of
iconic women according to Hindu mythology.
This group includes Ahalya, Sita, Tara, Mandodari and Draupadi.
1. Ahalya
- Wife of
Sage Gautama
2. Sita - Wife of Lord Rama
3. Mandodari
- Wife of
Ravana
4. Tara - Wife of Vaali and
Sugriva.
5. Draupadi- Wife of Panchapandavas
Ahalya
'Ahalya' in the Hindu
mythology, is the wife of Sage Gautama. She is said to be the most stunning,
gorgeous and attractive woman created by Brahma during the period of 4th
century BC. She was married to a much older husband, the sage Gautama.
Lord Indra, who was tempted by her beauty could
not (wouldn't even dare to) approach her to ask her to be involved in a
consummate relationship with him. So, he decides wickedly to go in disguise of
sage Gautama (Husband of Ahalya) and sleep with Ahalya. This enrages sage
Gautama and he turns Ahalya into a stone by cursing her for
infidelity, little realizing that the fault lies entirely on Indra. We later
read in the Sampoorna Ramayanam, that Lord Rama liberates her from the curse.
Sita
Sita is the protagonist of the Hindu epic Ramayana. She is the
adopted daughter of Raja Janak and Rani Sunaina. She is considered to be the
daughter of soil.
she is described to be a beautiful
woman, and well educated in arts, literature and politics. She has three
sisters
Urmila, Mandavi and Shrutkirti.
she is also called Maithili or
Vedihti
As she reaches a marraigeable age,
her father hosts a grand Swayamvar to get her married. She gets married to Ram,
the prince of Ayodhya or Kosala.
she goes into a 14 year long exile
with her husband and brother-in-law where she is abducted by the asur king,
ravan.
after a bloody war between ram and
ravan’s armies, ravan is killed and sita is freed.
she goes through an agni pariksha to
prove her morality, she goes in the fire and comes out unharmed and in the
royal clothes.
she returns to ayodhya and becomes
queen.
after some years, she is foresaken by
her husband because he doubts her morality
she is pregnant and gives birth to
twins, Luv and Kush
after
many years, she she hands over the children to her husband and is taken in by
mother Earth, her real mother.
Dedication to Husband
She started to love her husband the second he won the Swayamvara.
She never regretted her husband's decision of Vanvas .
and accompanied him without complaint.
Chaste just like her Husband
After Ram intensively fell in love with his Wife He declared that he will
undergo Eka pathni vrath(Ek- one , Pathni - wife , Vrat - Vow).
She fluttered just like a
butterfly learning this and started to adore him in every possible way.
Being a better half
While she accompanied her husband in jungle she helped in all types of work
from advising on networking to decision
making in difficult times
Smart
She understood her husband's mind and left clues during her abduction that
could help him to pursue his search operation without loosing hope
Valour like a Knight!!!
She is a Woman with great
valour in heart so she wanted Raavan to be defeated by her husband's hand. She
also came to know that raavan is a rapist previously and he is afraid of bad
omen that follows when he nears her. The bad omen is due to curse on Raavan by
another woman. So she determines Raavan should be given an appointment with
KaalaBhairava by Ram.
Justice at heart
She obligates that Lanka must be constructed again with justice and peace.
Ram .
Confidence and Fearlessness
After her chastity being
questioned she invokes the pyre and Dares to jump in it.
She is confident about her love with Ram.
And then she does this to
come out of Agnipariksha successfully....
Tolerance and Sacrifice
Despite her chastity being pure some people just like us started to curse ram
and Sita. So Ram decides to accompany her in Jungle renouncing the kingdom
again.
Good mother.
She chose to raise her sons by herself in the Jungle. They became strong enough to
rule and maintain a kingdom.
Many would say ramayana but there are enough prime factors which allows the
epic to be renamed as Sitayana. As
valmiki rightly calls it 'Sitayah Charitam Mahat'(The glorious tale of
Sita).Even in the south of India Kamaba-ramayanam is called
"Sitayanam". I would say Ram as a supporting character and sita as a main character .
Mandodari
Mandodari is the daughter of Mayasura, the king of the Asuras, who
are god-like demons. What is most interesting and even controversial is that
she was the main wife of Ravana, the demon King of Lanka. Mandodari is said to be very caring and righteous, totally unlike
her husband. Her personality of selflessness and faithfulness can be traced
back to her childhood. She was said to be a very kind child, and she was the
only daughter of Mayasura and Hema. Mandodari was special- she would always try
to keep the peace between her two brothers who fought a lot when they were
younger. These two brothers were extremely troublesome- they would stir the pot
and cause issues between many people. They were also extremely dangerous, their
powers were strong and they used them whenever they wanted. There was one
instance in particular when her two brothers, Mayavi and Dundubhi, had been arguing and at each other’s
throats all day. The source of the argument was trivial, but nevertheless the
argument became violent. The brothers started becoming physical- they were
punching and biting each other. Young Mandodari absolutely hated seeing this,
so she came up with a plan. She was able to calmly separate the brothers from
each other, and she put them in different rooms. She first physically
stepped in between the two brothers, then held each by their hair and spoke
very calmy. She told them to separate because they were a disgrace the family.
Then she spoke with each of them separately. She explained to them that they
were family and that no one else in the world would protect them like their own
family would. She told them there were too many bad people and evil deeds
going on to be fighting your own brother over something so trivial. Mandodari,
even at a young age, had the capability to speak eloquently and gently yet
still firmly enough to get her point across. Sometimes her speeches would work,
sometimes they wouldn’t. In this case, however, her talks with her brothers did
work, and that was the last time they ever allowed a disagreement to get out of
hand.
When
Mandodari was older and married to Ravana, she had to exercise this skill very
often. She wanted so badly to lead Ravana down the path of righteousness, but
it was almost hopeless. Her greatest challenge was when her husband decided to
kidnap Sita. Mandodari knew that Ravana’s lust was too great to overcome, but
she still tried to plead with him to let Sita go after she had been kidnapped.
Although Ravana did not listen, Mandodari did use her power to save Sita’s
life. Ravana was furious when Sita would not agree to marry him, and he got his
sword and was about to behead Sita. Mandodari, however, grabbed Ravana’s arm
and gently lowered it, convincing him that he was making a foolish mistake.
This saved Sita’s life so that she could eventually return safely to Rama.
Mandodari
was an extremely loyal and faithful wife to Ravana, despite his flaws and
corrupt actions that she disagreed with. She tried her best to make a
better person out of him, which was extremely admirable and brave. She was a
beautiful woman and a fascinating lady whose story deserves to be told.
Tara
One of the five Panchakanyas
mentioned in Hinduism known for their purity and chastity was Tara, the wife of
the Monkey King Vali and the Queen of Kishkindha in the Ramayana. She was known
for her conviction, courage and intelligence. In the Kishkindha Kanda of the
Ramayana she is portrayed as a strong woman and it is said that when Lakshmana
was sent to remind Sugriva of his vow to help Rama in their search for Sita it
was Tara who faced him bravely and pacified him.
Birth and Early life
There are various legends about the
birth of Tara. According to the Ramayana, Tara was the daughter of Vanara
physician, Sushena. In other legends, she was the daughter of Brihaspathi, the
Guru of the Gods while Vali and Sugreeva were the sons of Indra and Surya
respectively. In some others, Tara is said to have risen along with other
Apsaras during the churning of the ocean by the Gods and demons when they
wished to acquire Amrit or the nectar of immortality. In the Japanese
tradition, Tara is the Apsara daughter of Indra and his wife, Wiyati. Some
versions of the Ramayana state that Tara was given to both Vali and Sugreeva
for helping the Gods while others state that Tara was to have been initially
married to Sugreeva, but Vali snatched her and married her. All versions
confirm that Angada was the son of Tara and Vali.
Vali’s duel
When Rama, Lakshmana and Sita went to
the forest in exile for fourteen years, Sita was kidnapped by Ravana, the King
of Lanka. While Rama and Lakshmana were wandering in the forest in search of
her, they met the Vanara Hanuman, who took them to meet Sugreeva who was in
exile. Rama formed an alliance with Sugreeva promising to defeat Sugreeva’s
brother Vali and helping him to regain his kingdom. Sugreeva in return promised
to help him in his search for Sita. Following Rama’s plan, Sugreeva challenged
his brother Vali in a duel but Rama was unable to distinguish between the two
brothers and consequently Sugreeva lost the duel. Then Sugreeva on Rama’s
advice wore a garland and then challenged Vali again to a duel in which Rama
hiding behind a tree, killed Vali.
Tara’s advice
When Sugreeva returned to challenge
Vali immediately after his defeat, Tara was suspicious about his immediate
return wearing a garland and cautioned Vali. She had also heard about the
friendship between Sugreeva and Rama and urged Vali to live peacefully with his
brother Sugreeva by befriending him and making him Crown Prince. Vali
recognised the wisdom of her words in facing Sugreeva once again but said that
he was a warrior and hence could not refuse a challenge.
Death of Vali
Ignoring Tara’s advice, Vali rushed
to meet the challenge. During the combat, Rama shot an arrow from behind and
wounded Vali fatally. Hearing the news, Tara rushed to see him and reproached
Sugreeva and Rama while lamenting Vali’s death. It is said that Vali had also
seized Sugreeva’s wife Ruma and Tara realised that Vali’s death was a
punishment for exiling Sugreeva and seizing his wife. Some legends of Ramayana
state that Tara inconsolable in her grief invoked the power of her purity and
chastity and cursed Rama that after regaining Sita he would lose her and that
in his next birth Rama would be killed by Vali. This fructified when in the
next Avatar Krishna was killed by a hunter who was Vali reborn. Rama had
divined the result of his next birth and hence was unperturbed by the curse. He
also knew that through a boon Vali could never be defeated in combat as anyone
who fought him would have half their strength transferred to Vali. Rama is said
to have consoled Tara with words of solace and requested her to accept the
preordained destiny. Before dying, Vali asked Rama to ensure that Tara was
taken care of and acknowledged her wisdom by asking Sugreeva to heed her
advice. Rama assured him of taking care of Angada and is said to have preached
to her the truth of life and death, soul and other concepts. Rama is also said
to have given Upadesha and granted moksha to Vali.
Tara’s enlightenment
In Tulsidas’s and Valmiki’s Ramayana
as Tara was devoted to Rama in a previous birth, Tara is said to have gained
enlightenment and wisdom from Rama. She then helped Angada and Sugreeva in
performing the last rites of Vali.
Marriage to Sugreeva
In the Ramayana, it is mentioned that
Sugreeva was crowned King and he married Tara. A number of reasons have been
stated for this act. Tara served Sugreeva loyally who in turn took good care of
Angada.
Tara’s diplomacy
After Sugreeva had become King, he became
involved in material pleasures and forgot his promise to Rama. Rama then sent
Lakshmana to remind him of his promise. Lakshmana entered Kishkinda with great
anger and Sugreeva realising his mistake was apprehensive of facing him.
However, the wise Tara extolled the glories of Rama and pacified Lakshmana by
informing him that emissaries had been sent in all directions and the results
were being awaited. It was only due to her tact and diplomacy with Lakshmana
that a crisis was averted and Lakshmana’s anger abated.
Draupadi
Draupadi was a strong woman, who could be just as aggressive as
passionate and caring, depending on the situation. Her life was full
of hardships, but it was also full of wonderful rewards as well. One thing
that is for sure about Draupadi is that she was beautiful. There was no
denying that she was a true beauty- her skin, eyes, and hair were all gorgeous.
However, there was a strong soul behind that beauty too. Thanks to her strength
of soul, she was able to face many challenges not only in her adult life,
but also in her childhood as well.
Draupadi
was the daughter of king Drupada. The king was a very loving and trusting
father who wanted the best for Draupadi. Draupadi also had high expectations
for herself as well. When she was young, Draupadi experienced something awful
that would stay with her and help her persevere in her adult life. One day,
when Draupadi was about nine years old, the King took her on a hunting trip.
Draupadi was so excited! She packed her best gear and planned out the whole
trip. After the long journey, Draupadi and the king finally arrived at their
destination. The first day and night was wonderful- everything went smoothly
and according to plan. However, at dusk on the second day of hunting, a group of
four boys started bothering Draupadi. They made fun of her because she was a
girl on a hunting trip- they could not take her seriously. But Draupadi stood
her ground and did not allow the boys to talk bad about her. She snapped and
said something insulting to the boys, who became extremely angry. The boys
decided to kidnap Draupadi to teach her a lesson. Draupadi knew she was no
match physically against the four boys, so she let them take her. However, the
whole time she was planning her escape in her head. She waited until the boys
were not paying attention and ran from their grasp. It was dark, and with a
head start Draupadi was able to get away and hide from them.
Although
this moment should have terrified her and traumatized her, Draupadi used this
experience to make her stronger and that strength carried into her adult life.
Draupadi was the wife of the five Pandavas, which was unique in and of itself.
Although it was shocking when she first found out that she would have five
husbands, Draupadi accepted her situation and came to terms with it. This was
not the end of her challenges, however. Yudhishthira,
one of the five brothers, played a game of dice, betting everything he owned.
Slowly but surely, he lost this bet, too. Now Draupadi was a slave of
Duryodhana, Yudhishthira's cousin who had won the gambling match. Of course, he
lost this bet too. Then, in front of everyone, Duryodhana orders his brother
Dushasana to take off Draupadi’s sari. Her sari amazingly became
endless, never revealing her naked body! Although she never ends up being
naked in front of everyone, this event would be extremely terrifying for
anyone. Draupadi handles it in the best way she can, and she escapes in a
decent condition. Her bravery and ability to handle scary situations started in
her childhood and carried over into her adult life to help her in that awful
situation.
Draupadi
has always been brave, ever since she was a little girl. She can
be aggressive when need be, but she never loses her sense of compassion.
She is an extremely admirable woman!
husbands, she must be a strong and smart
woman. It takes a lot to be a wife, and if she can do that successfully she can
do anything.
Sabari
