CONTRIBUTION OF ANDHRA WOMEN TO
ADVAITA VEDANTA
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 discussions 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 s
ome 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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