CONTRIBUTION OF ANDHRA WOMEN TO
ADVAITA VEDANTA
Dr.
Chilakamarthi . Durga Prasada Rao
Vedantadarsana, also known as UTTARA -
MIMAMSA DARSANA is said to be the best of all Darsanas because it explains
admirably the nature of soul and serves as the beacon light of human life.
Moreover, it satisfies the human aspiration of getting rid of worldly
entanglements and attaining salvation.
The edifice of the
entire Vedanta system is built mainly upon the literary tripod of the
Upanishads, the Brahmasutras of
Badarayana and the Bhagavadgita which are also known as prasthanatraya.
On the basis of the above works, Sankara, Ramanuja and Madhva established their
own theories –Advaita, Visistadvaita and Dvaita respectively.
The commentary
written by Sankaracharya is known as Sarirakamimamsabhashya. Sarira,
being impure has therefore come to be
known as sariraka, while the Jiva which dwells in the Sarira is sariraka. A
discussion whether this saariraka is the same as Brahman or not is known as Sarirakamimsabhashya.
After Sankara’s
departure, his philosophy got divided in to three branches; Bhamati, Vivarana
and Vartika. The first two have survived and even enjoy critical examination,
while latter one, Vartika has suffered extinction. The differences between
Bhamati and Vivarana schools of thought are very few and they do not affect the
Spirit of Advaita I.e., the oneness of Jiva and Brahman.
Most of the Acharyas who existed in the Post -
Sankara Period, composed commentaries and treatises independently, following
either of the two schools, without contradicting
the other. However, there are a few who
followed one school contradicting the other.
Apart from the works
based on these two Prasthanas, many independent works, both major and minor, as
well as commentaries were written on Advaita Vedanta It is interesting to note
that a few women scholars also contributed their might for the development of
Advita - Vedanta.
Despite the
unconscionable ban of women, quite a number of women not only studied the sastras
but also participated in scholarly discussions with emerging success.
Andhradesa can justly be proud that it also produced reputed scholars of the
fair sex.
Contrary to popular
notion, women were never treated as inferior to men. They were given equal status
and privileges as men and were never subjected to gender discrimination. There
is evidence to show that women, just like men, also got initiated in Gayatri
and chanted the Vedas with equal alacrity. And, like men, they too participated
in philosophical discourses. A shining example is found in the lively
discussion on Vedanta between Yajnavalkya and his wife Maitreyi.
To some, it may come
as a revelation that women even chaired
philosophical
discussion and debates. Thus, Ubhayabharathi, wife
of Mandana Misra,
had the privilege of presiding over the marathon
debating session
where a furious debate took place between Sankara and
MandanaMisra on
highly esoteric philosophical issues. What is more
stunning is that she,
as judge, declared Sankara, not her husband,
MandanaMisra - the
winner!
We have in recent
times the shining example of a great scholar, Kamakshi.
Kamakshi [A.D.1852
-1920], daughter of Ramaswami, is from Andhradesa.
She was a great
scholar in Nyaya and Vedanta. After her
husband Ramalingarya's
premature death, she
proceeded to her mother's house and, rather than drowning i
n grief, steeped
herself in the study of Nyaya and Vedanta with unswerving
concentration and
determination. Kamakshi wrote the following scintillating works.
1) Advaitadipika : -
This work substantiates the doctrines of Advaita advocated by
Madhusudanasaraswathi in Advaitasiddhi.
2)
Sritiratnaprakasatippini : - This is a commentary on the Sritiratnaprakasa of Tryambakabhatta.
3) Sritimatodyotatippani
: - This is also a commentary on the Sritimatodyota of Tryambakabhatta.
All these works were
published by Sri Vani Vilas press.
While on this
discussion of Vedanta Philosophy, one needs to record that
a large number of
contributors some contributed famous Telugu works while the
other wrote original
works in Telugu still others wrote commentaries of some
Vedanta works in
Telugu. Here are a few notable examples.
Kanakamba of
Kanchanapalli family belongs to the 20th century. She wrote
the great work
Amrutasaramu, comprising 550 verses. She
was a student of
Amrutanandaswami and
she incorporated the teachings of a guru in her works.
The importance of a
guru in attaining Moksha, the greatness of pranava, the
concept of
jivanmukthi and the means of attaining Atmasakshatkara are some
of the important
issues discussed in this treatise..
Another work of the
same author is Ananadasaramu which consists of about
500 verses. In this
monumental work the importance of Bhakti, Jnana, Vairagya and
Self experience are
beautifully advanced.
Still another
production of the same author, Jivayatra is also available.
This was written in
1800 poems. The title Jivayatra is suggestive of the empirical
journey of the jiva
to the goal of Liberation.
Tarigonda Venkamamba
of the 19th century translated Vasistaramayana also known as
Yogavasista in
chaste Telugu. She used the Dwipada as metre using a simple but
elegant language. Subhadramba
of Mamidanna family lived in the first half of
20th century. She
authored Adhyatmaramayanamu where she discussed many
philosophical points
such as the transitoriness of the world, the nature of
Supreme Being and
the identity of Jiva and Brahaman.
Still there are many
women authors of Advaita. Besides, we
find that there were
women ascetics also
in Andhradesa who attained the state of Jivanmukthi
[Liberation while
living] and whose presence inspired their devotees in attaining
or experiencing the
state of liberation. Here is a list of the lady luminaries.
1) Tarigonda
Venkamma [A.D. 1730 - 1817] of Chittur District.
2) Dontulamma [A.D.
1807 - 1932] of Machilipatnam of Krishna district.
3) Tikkalakshmamma
[A.D. 1815 -1933] of Adoni.
4) Avadhuta
Picchamma of [A.D. 1870 - 1951] of Kurumaddali.
5) Sukshamamurtemma
[A.D.1807-1928] of Gangayapalli.
6) Venkamma
[A.D.1808- 1862] of Manikyanagaram.
7) Chinnamma
[A.D.1887 - 1956] of Repelle.
8) Eswaramma
[A.D.1703 - 1803] of Kandimallaipalli.
9) Anasuya [A.D.1923
-1985] of Jillellamudi.
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