Word

Gargi

Sanskrit

गार्गि

IAST

gārgi

In General

Gargi is a brilliant lady Rishi of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. She is daughter of Vachaknu. Gargi is an example to showcase that some of the ladies in Vedic age had high reputation and were invited to Rajasabha to debate on elite academic subjects. The subject debated is spiritually termed as Akshara Vidya, Meditationg on the imperishable Being, the Brahman.

Veda

Gargi is one of the learned scholar asking questions to Yajmnavalkya in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. What exist before the Unmanifested Hiranyagarbha is her famous question. Yajnavalkya refuse to answer the question in the first instance as she expected an answer in the empirical sense (this is like asking what exist before dark-matter-energy to a physics professor). Gargi modified the question in the next chapter and asked, what scripture say about the Unmanifested. Then Yajnavalkya describe the nature of the unmanifested as something exist beyond time space coordinates and with out any qualities. This way Yajnavalkya expressed his thoughts that asking a question about a cause of action of the Unmanifested in time and space is futile. The question absurd, Yajnavalkya’s answer satisfied Gargy and the learned audience.