The Ancient India & Women Empowerment

The Brihadaranyak Upanishad is an ancient document consisting of intellectual debate within the Yajnavalkya #school of thought and others. Rishi Yajnavalkya was a man of outstanding caliber. The disciple of Rishi Aruni, Yajnavalkya, not only defeated his #teacher in a debate but also developed texts for Shukla Yajurved, one of the two parts of Yajurved.

The #Upanishad dives deep into the control over conscience, finding the true purpose of one’s existence, the importance of Atman [self], Mukti [liberation], and much more.

In one of the chapters of the Upanishad, there’s a dialogue between Yajnavalkya and his wife, Maitreyi. Maitreyi was also an ancient sage. To date, she is regarded as one of ancient #India's most virtuous women along with other intellectual women #like Gargi Vachankavi, Lopamudra, etc.

There’s an excellent dialogue in the Upanishad, when Yajnavalkya asks permission for Vanaprasthashram [retirement] and expresses that he wants to divide his wealth between Maitreyi and Katyayani, his second wife.

While Katyayani wasn’t interested in his wealth, Maitreyi asks if she would become immortal after getting that wealth. While denying the same, Yajnavalkya explains Maiteryi various facets of life.

But what intrigued me more was the life of those times. At times, everyday life in India was not only democratic but filled with #respect towards other genders.

Look at this fact, Maitreyi was a passionate intellectual woman, eager to understand nature and gain knowledge; she often used to engage in debates with her husband and #share her knowledge. On the other hand, Katyayani was #content leading a normal life. She chose to listen to the conversations between the two intellectual minds. But she wasn’t denied the respect she deserved.

Today we think that the concept of #WomenEmpowerment is a Western thought. But there was a time, when Ancient India believed in it and executed it in everyday life wholeheartedly.