Gargi Vachaknavi

Gargi Vachaknavi was an ancient Indian female philosopher, born in the family of Garga, circa 800 - 500 BCE [ [http://www.women-philosophers.com/Gargi.html Gargi] www.women-philosophers.com.] . She was daughter of sage Vachaknavi.

Gargi 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 perturbing questions on the "atman" (soul) [ [http://www.sivanandaonline.org/graphics/spritual_life/ideal_for_women/the_culmination_selfhood.html?9d5ab6c0 Gargi - The Virgin Pholosopher] Swami Sivananda] . In Vedic literature, she is honored as one of the great natural philosophers [cite web
title=Gargi
url=http://www.astr.ua.edu/4000WS/GARGI.html
accessdate=2006-12-24] . She was the daughter of sage Vachaknucite web
title=Vedic Women: Loving, Learned, Lucky!
url=http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/aa031601c.htm
accessdate=2006-12-24] .

Gargi composed several hymns that questioned the origin of all existence. Yogayajnavalkya Samhita, a classical text on Yoga is a dialogue between sage Yajnavalkya and Gargi ["Yogayajnavalkya Samhita" - The Yoga Treatise of Yajnavalkya, by T. K. V. Desikachar and T. Krishnamacharya, Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram (2004), ISBN 8187847085.]

References

External links

* [http://saxakali.com/Saxakali-Publications/gargi.htm An Essay on Sasenarine Persaud's poem: Letter to Gargi]