Gargi Vachaknavi
Gargi Vachaknavi was an ancient Indian philosopher. In Vedic Literature, she is honored as one of the great natural philosophers.[1] She is mentioned in the Sixth and the Eighth Brahmana of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, where the brahmayajna, a philosophic congress organized by King Janaka of Videha is described, she challenged the sage Yajnavalkya with intriguing questions on the atman (soul).[2][3]
Gargi was named after the sage Garga, in whose lineage she was born; her last name comes from her father Vachaknu.[4]
Gargi composed several hymns that questioned the origin of all existence. The Yoga Yajnavalkya, a classical text on Yoga is a dialogue between Gargi and sage Yajnavalkya.[5] Gargi was one of the Navaratnas in the court of King Janaka of Mithila. She has composed several hymns and is an author of Gargi Samhita.
References
- ↑ "Gargi". Retrieved 2006-12-24.
- ↑ "Vedic Women: Loving, Learned, Lucky!". Retrieved 2006-12-24.
- ↑ Gargi - The Virgin Philosopher Swami Sivananda
- ↑ Great Women of India. Know India. Prabhat Prakashan. 2005. p. 15. ISBN 978-81-87100-34-8.
- ↑ Yogayajnavalkya Samhita - The Yoga Treatise of Yajnavalkya, by T. K. V. Desikachar and T. Krishnamacharya, Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram (2004), ISBN 81-87847-08-5.