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Question on Advaita (Women inAdvaita Vedanta)

Vishal Agarwalvishalagarwal at HOTMAIL.COM

Mon Jul 24 20:05:27 CDT 2000

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Dear Dennis,

I apologize in advance for this hurried unstructured response. The best way

to get scholarly answers to your question is to join the Advaita Mailing

list. I will foward your questions to the list members but you could also

joint the list by going to the following URL

http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l.html

Advaita Vedanta is primarily a philosophical tradition and therefore does

not have an extensive discourse on men-women relationships. Some writings of

Shri Shankaracharya however betray his negative views towards women (see

below). For instance, he held that women are debarred from the study of

Vedas, although he granted them the possibility of Moksha via the

Itihasa-Purana literature. Note however that the texts on which his

commentaries make these observations themselves do not have anything to say

in this regard. Rather they say the opposite.

The authoritative Upanishads, the Geeta and the Sutras do not contain any

disparagingremarks against women although the commentaries on them by Shamkaracharya

etc. do. An

exception to this might be the following statement in the Brahadaranyaka

Upanishad- "If she

does not grant him his desire (for coitus), he should buy her (with

presents). If she still does

not grant him his desire, he should beat her with a stick or with his hand

and overcome her

with power and glory." Br. Up. 6.4.7.

This passage is a part of the Khila Kanda (supplementary portion) of the

Upanishad and does

not form the text proper, being a later addition. This opinion is held

unanimously by Hindu

scholars (refer to Shankaracharyas commentary). Such passages are Angirasa

Vidhi and

are considered obnoxious by Hindus.

On views of Shri Shankaracharya, we have the following examples--

1. On Bhagvad Gita 9.32, Sri Samkaracharya comments that women and Sudras

are not

entitled to the study of Vedas. There is not even a trace of this thought in

the orignal verse

of the Gita.

stion on Advaita (Women in Advaita Vedanta) http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/20

7 Thursday 28 March 2013 06


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2. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 6.4.17 reads: "Now if one wishes to beget a

daughter who is

a scholar (Pandita), and that she should live her full life, then they

should eat rice cooked with

Sesame along with some Ghee. Thereby, they will beget her." On this, Sri

Samkaracharya adds-

" The scholarship of the daughter is restricted to proficiency in household

affairs only, because

she is debarred from the study of Vedas." Again, we see that this is the

Acharya's personal view,colored by the prevalent notions of his times.

However, we must also note that the Acharya has also written beautiful hymns

to female deities.

The 4 Vedas (Mantra Samhitas-Rig, Yajur, Sama, Atharva) indeed do not have

any degrading

references of a general nature towards women. Infact, the Rigveda counts 21

ladies amongst its Sages. However, the old commentaries on them, called

the Brahmana texts, contain some uncharitable remarks against women (which,

being opposed to

the Vedas are not authoritative for Hindus). A few examples-

1. "Women, shudras, black crows and dogs are indeed false (evil)."

Shatapatha Brahmana 14.1.1.31.

This statement occurs in the context of the Pravargya ritual which requires

the performer to remain

celibate, meditate for perfection and shun all falsehood. Therefore, the

statement is made (in the

typical literary style of the Brahmana texts) to dissuade the performer of

the ritual to cohabit with

his wife or interact with ignorant men (Shudras) by comparing them to dogs

and black crows).

2. "Three are indeed evil-....., women and ...." Maitrayani Samhita 3.6.3

This statement again occurs

in the Brahmana portion of the text, not the Mantra portion.

3. "Women cherish meaningless conversations and go after singers and

dancers." Shatapatha Brahmana 3.2.4.6

4. "Therefore, women desire singers." Taittiriya Samhita 6.1.6.44 (again,

this is in the Brahmana

portion, not in the Mantra portion)

5. "The husband alone is a wifes honour." Shatapatha Brahmana 2.6.2.14

6. "A wife should seek to reside in her household alone." Shatapatha

Brahmana 3.3.1.10. The last

two statements are to be understood in the light of the reply that Sukanya

gave to the handsome

twins Ashwin Kumaras, who teased her for having an old and blind husband and

asked her to

marry one of them- "My father betrothed me to my Husband and I will not

leave him as long

as he lives." Shatapatha Brahmana 4.1.5.9

7. "The Brahmana texts say- Do not eat food cooked by a woman in her

menses."

Vasishtha Dharma sutra 5.8

The Brahmana texts however, also contain statements praising women. For

instance:

1. " He who does not have a wife is not entitled to sacrifice to the Devas."

Taittiriya Brahmana 2.2.2.6




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2. "A wife is indeed one half of ones Atman." Taittiriya Brahmana 3.3.3.5

3. "Women verily are an embodiment of splendour." ibid 2.9.4.7

4. "A woman never kills" Shatapatha Brahmana 6.3.1.39 In the Shanti Parvan

of the Mahabharata,

Bhishma Pitamaha clarifies that women are not naturally inclined to commit

sins, but their neglect

by bad husband forces them to commit evil acts in order to survive.

Therefore, women never sin

on their own and are always pure.

Coming to the Puranas, I referred to the Vayu, Brahma, Vishnu and portions

of the

Srimadabhagvat Puranas but could find only the following famous verse:

"Since the three Vedas cannot be learnt by women, Shudras and the twice born

(by mere birth,

not learning), the Sage Veda Vyasa composed the story of Mahabharata out of

compassion

for them." Bhagvata Mahapurana 1.4.25

Contrarily, I found several tales in the Puranas in praise of women. For

instance, the Vishnu

Purana records a tale in which the Sages assemble on the banks of a river,waiting for Veda

Vyasa to come out of water after completing his meditation. The reverend

sage comes out

and utters: "In the Kali Age, women will be superior to men" and goes into

water again. After

a while, he emerges again and utters: "In the Kali Age, the Shudras will be

superior to the

twice born." and goes into water again. He finally completes his meditation

and emerges from

the river, whereupon the Sages ask him the meaning of his enigmatic

statements. Veda Vyasaji

replies that "In the Kali Yuga, men in general and the children of the first

three castes in particular

will abandon their Dharma out of pride and neglect whereas the Shudras and

women will adhere

to their Dharmas. Since it is the practice of Dharma alone which exalts one,

the Shudras and

women will be superior to the twice born and to men respectively."

In the same Purana, an childless Brahmin prays to Lord Vishnu for progeny.

The Lord, pleased

with his devotion appears and asks him if he desires a girl or a boy. The

pious Brahmin replies-

"What difference does it make my Lord. Indeed, a son will be your embodiment

while a daughter

will be Devi Laxmi (Lord Vishnu's wife) herself." Pleased, Bhagvan Vishnu

blesses him with a

daughter. The Brahmin is overjoyed. The Purana records further that the

Brahmin showers all his

love and affection on his daughter and educates her in all the scriptures as

a result she becomes

a noted scholar of her days."

I also looked up a text called 'Yatidharmasamucchaya" by Yadava Prakasha.

This is the oldest

extant text on the duties of a mendicant. The text does not explicitly bar

women from becomming




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monks but the whole atmosphere of the text assumes that it is addressed to a

Brahmin male

At the commencement of a particular portion of the Aitreya Upanishad,

pregnant women are

asked to leave. Orthodox Vedic scholars hold that the sound vibrations of

this part of the

Upanishad (it is still recited with the authentic Vedic accents by the

Nambudiri Brahmins of Kerala)are harmful for the foetus although I surmise that the point of discussion

is detrimental to the

cheerfulness of of the listener (and pregnant women have been asked to be

cheerful and happy

always so that the foetus also grows healthy). In the Vedic ritual texts

like the Ashvalayana Grhya

sutras, wives are asked to recite Vedic verses along with their husbands,

which is not possible

if they were debarred from the study of the Vedas. Some hold that women

cannot be Yogins

because Yoga leads to a stage of Urdhvareta (he whose semen does not fall

out but rather

ascends in the body). This is refuted by others who state that althoughwomen do not have

Ratas, they have Rajovirya. In any case, Mimamsa Sutras (Chapter 6, Pada

1) declare

that "women are entitled to the performance of Vedic Rituals even

independently of men,

and to the best of their ability, because they also have a desire to attain

salvation and because

they are also owners of wealth, just like men". This is then the settled

conclusion.

Coming to Samnyasa texts, the ancient manuals on Samnyasa viz. the

Vaikahansa sutras and

the Parasharya Sutras, are lost. The Smriti texts like Manusmriti,

Baudhayana Dharmasutra

etc. apparently based on these do not explicitly forbid women from taking

Samnyasa, although

they keep only the man in mind while describing Ascetics. In fact, some

ancient Smriti texts

openly prescribe Samnyasa for women. For instance, the Harita Dharma Sutra

(available

only in manuscripts and referred to by P. V. Kane in his History of

Dharmashastra"),

states that women are of two types- "Sadhyavadhu and Brhamavadhu" -- they

who marry early

and they who marry Brahman (i.e. become Samnyasinis). The Atharva Veda also

seems to

divide women into 3 types-"Bhima jaya brahmasyopanita" i.e. The ferocious

(women warriors

--these are described in the 4 Vedas in several mantras), the mothers (i.e.

ordinary married

women), and women pruified by the Vedas and Brahman (which might be taken to

roughly

mean female ascetics). I do not remember the exact location of the mantra

but can locate it

for you if you are in urgent need. I have not read the medieval manuals of

Samnyasa (like the Yatidharmasamucchaya or the Yatidharmaprakasha) but I

surmise that they do have some




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injunctions against women assuming Samnyasa. There is a collection of

non-canonical Upanishad

texts called the Samnyasa Upanishads". The Samskrit text has been published

from Adyar,

Madras, and an excellent English translation called "Samnyasa Upanishads" by

Patrick Oleville.

As far as I remember, none of these texts contain any injunctions against

women attaining

Samnyasa. (While Mr. Oleville believes that non of these Upanishads is older

than the 10thcentury, I strongly disagree, for sound reasons. But that is besides the

point here).

1st section of the 6th chapter of the

Mimamsa Shastra (the Code of Vedic Ritualism) discusses at length the right

of women to participate

in and conduct Vedic Rituals. If you wish, I can post a translation cum

commentary in due course

of time here.

Some other relevant quotations from Hindu texts:

"Just like the son, the daughter also extends one's family lineage"

Bruhaspati Smriti

"As a son is born of one's own self, so is a duaghter. Indeed, there is no

difference between the two.

Therefore, if a man were to die without a son, the daughter verily will

inherit all his wealth, for who

else can inherit it while she is present?" Swayambhuva Manu quoted by

Maharshi Yaska in Nirukta

Regarding Manusmrti, I must mention that it is a composite, disorganized

text, replete with

interpolations and dislocations of verses and in fact, some verses in the

original text have

evidently been dropped. I cite the following example (Manusmrti 2.66-67):

"All the purificatory ceremonies (Samskaras) of women should be performed in

due order

and in due time without the application of Vedic Mantras. For women, the

marriage ceremony

is the only Vedic ritual permissible, serving her husband is staying and

studying under a Guru,

and performance of household chores alone is her Agnihotra (a Vedic

ritual)." i.e. a woman

is not eligible for Yajnopavita, performance of Agnithotra and other Vedic

rights or to Vedic

Samskaras (except the marraige ceremony, where her husband is also present).

Now, Kulluka

Bhatta, a medieval commentator of Manusmriti records that some manuscripts

available in his

time had an additional verse following these two verses:

Agnihotrasya shushrusha sayamudvasameva cha |

Karya patnya pratidinamiti karma cha vaidikam ||

"Attending to the Agnihotra daily and assisting her husband in his duties at

dawn and in the

evening everyday in the performance of ceremonies are the Vaidika Karma of

women." Now,




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I am sure this was the original verse and the former two (which contradict

this one) are

interpolations, because the Ramayana clearly record that Kaushalya Rani,

Devi Sita etc. used

to attend to the performance of Agnihotra everyday, and the Atharvaveda too

prescribes that

the primary responsibility of performance of daily household rituals lies

with the wife (I do not

remember the exact location right now but could look it up for you). There

is no reason whysomebody should have interpolated this 3rd verse, but it is highly probable

that the first two

verses were added to Manusmrti at a very early date, since they occur in all

the manuscripts.

Strictly speaking, the first verse even violates the context. The

Atharvaveda clearly refers to

the practice of Brahmacharya by women ("Brahmacharryena kanyaa yuvanam

vindate

patim" Kanda X). Some Vedic scholars have even written a tract called

"Kanyopnayan vidhi"

wherein they have demonstrated that the Vedic texts prescribe the thread

ceremony for

women also.

Sincerely,

Vishal

----Original Message Follows----

From: "Dennis Koenig"

Reply-To:

To:

Subject: Question on Advaita

Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 17:39:00 -0400

Hello,

In a search for an answer to the question I wish to ask, I have just

visited your web page at

http://www.hinduweb.org/home/dharma_and_philosophy/vvh/ , and have

bookmarked it for future reading. Thank you for this useful resource!

If you or an Advaita teacher you know is available to answer a question

about Advaita Vedanta, please consider a reply to this:

I am an early student with the School of Philosophy (Foundation for

Philosophic Studies, see www.practical-philosophy.org). The senior students

and tutors claim that the school's teaching draws heavily --- primarily ---

from the Advaita tradition. In some commentaries about the school found on

the Internet, I learned that in advanced classes they separate men and women

and teach a rather patriarchic view of the roles of men and women, that

women are to be subservient to men, that they must dress conservatively,

that they must obey certain rules regarding sexuality, etc. I have inquired

about this at my local branch of the school and they say that there is no

emphasis on this gender-bias in our local branch of the school (Rochester,

NY, USA), but my tutor specifically explained the basis for the teaching and

argued that the patriarchy taught is based on "the natural order" with

respect to the genders. I suspect that his explanation of "the natural




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order" may not be rooted in Advaita.

I am looking for references to Advaita texts that support the

patriarchic/anti-feminist notions in this school's doctrine on gender. I

don't see how or why this has anything to do with realization of Self or the

Absolute, or non-duality, or anything based in Advaita Vedanta. I don't

know why the school holds to this teaching about the male-female

relationship. I suspect that it is a cultural preference not necessarily

taught in the Advaita tradition. Is that so, from your perspective?

Can you help with this question?

Thank you,

Dennis Koenig

denniskoenig at msn.com

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