[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
Re: veda-adhikara
Giri (gmadras@engr.ucdavis.edu) wrote:
: On Thu, 2 May 1996, Dhruba Chakravarti wrote:
:
: > In article <ghenDqpwy6.Hsy@netcom.com> Giri wrote:
: >
: > : Let me repeat again : Based on my understanding (not that it is
: > : right or wrong), women or shudras are not allowed to recite vedas. Reciting
: > : vedas no way reflects on whether one attains salvation or not. The path
: > : to salvation is open to all, who makes an effort, irrespective of caste,
: > : creed, birth, gender, nationality etc.
:
: Sorry to prolong this thread but I seem to have not made myself clear
: since there were a couple of e-mails to me asking me why I felt women
: should not recite the vedas.
:
: >
: > Thank you for posting your views.
:
: It is NOT MY view that women (and shudras) should not be allowed
: to recite the vedas. Based on my understanding of dharma suutras like the
: apastambha, vasistha, gautama dharma suutras, women and shudras have been
: denied veda-adhikara. As to why and whether it is right or wrong is not
: for me to comment.
: As Vidya pointed out in his post, Shankara agrees with this in
: this bhashyas of upanishhads, and I have posted earlier Shankara's views on
: this subject by quoting brahma suutra bhashya. Even modern day Advaitins
: like Ramana Maharshi {Ramakrishna told me this through e-mail} did not
: prefer Shudras recite the vedas. As always, they are quick to point out
: that the path of moksha is open to everyone.
: Of course, one way is to dismiss Shankara and Ramana as
: narrow-minded, as one person who sent me an e-mail did, and strain our
: hands while we pat ourselves on our backs for being the most broad-minded
: persons.
I wonder whether it is due to the requirement of intellectual
ability to understand the Vedas to be qualified to read them,
otherwise it may do more harm than good, creating a kind of
ego of knowledge. Sudras not being intellectually strong,
this is understandable, I mean Sudra by profession,
not by birth. However, it does not make sense to me to say
that Women were not allowed to master vedas. Gargi, Yajnavalkya's
wife was a scholar on Vedas, further, the wife of Mandana Misra,
Ubhaya Bharati, was a great scholar. When Shankara decided
to enter into debate(tharkam) with Mandana Misra, later known as
Sureswaracharya, which lasted for fifteen days, Shankara
accepted Bharati as the judge. To be accepted by Shankara
at that stature, I would think that she should have been
a scholar. At the end of the of the debate, her husband
loses to Shankara and becomes his disciple. However, she
defeats Shankara on the question-answer session followed
and did not follow the husband till Shankara answered
her questions.
Regards,
Santhosh
