Two women, one speaking in an assembly of scholars and one beside a sage with a pile of coins

Episode 7 of 8 · Wise women

Gargi and Maitreyi: Wise Women of the Vedas

1 min read
Ages 3–8
6 pages
Free

Two brave women who were not afraid to ask questions.

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The Vedas were not only for men. Women learned too, and some were famous for their wisdom.
Gargi lived long ago. At a big gathering of scholars, hosted by a king named Janaka, she stood up and asked the great teacher Yajnavalkya question after question.
She was brave and she listened carefully to every answer. People remember her as a woman who was not afraid to ask.
Maitreyi was the wife of Yajnavalkya. When he decided to leave home and share all he owned, Maitreyi asked, would all this wealth make me happy forever?
He said, no. Then Maitreyi said, so what would I do with it? Please teach me what you know. And he did.
Some women are also remembered as poets of Vedic hymns. Girls and women have always been part of this story.

The big ideaAsking good questions is brave, and learning is for everyone.

Talk about it: What is a big question you would love to ask a wise teacher?

Learn more

Facts, a quiz and words to know

Did you know?

The story of Gargi is told in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. King Janaka of Videha held a great gathering and offered a prize of one thousand cows to the wisest scholar.
Gargi Vachaknavi asked Yajnavalkya a chain of questions: what is the world woven on? Water, then air, then the sky, then more. She kept going until she reached the very end of the chain.
She spoke up twice. At the end she said that nobody would be able to beat Yajnavalkya in a debate about Brahman, the greatest truth.
Maitreyi's story is in the same Upanishad. Yajnavalkya had two wives, Maitreyi and Katyayani. Maitreyi asked, "What shall I do with something that will not make me immortal?"
A woman who studied the highest knowledge was called a brahmavadini. Gargi and Maitreyi are two of the best-known ones.
The Rigveda has hymns credited to women seers, called rishikas, among them Ghosha, Lopamudra, Apala and Vishvavara.

Quick quiz

1Who held the great gathering of scholars in the story?
1. King Janaka
2. King Dasharatha
3. King Ashoka
Show the answer
A. King Janaka. Janaka of Videha.
2Whom did Gargi challenge with her questions?
1. Yajnavalkya
2. Nachiketa
3. Vishvamitra
Show the answer
A. Yajnavalkya. The great teacher Yajnavalkya.
3What did Maitreyi ask for instead of wealth?
1. Knowledge
2. A palace
3. A chariot
Show the answer
A. Knowledge. She wanted to learn what he knew.
4In which text are these stories told?
1. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
2. Panchatantra
3. Ramayana
Show the answer
A. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.
5What are women seers of the Vedas called?
1. Rishikas
2. Rangolis
3. Rakshasis
Show the answer
A. Rishikas. Rishikas.

Words to know

Rishika: A woman seer
Brahmavadini: A woman who studied and discussed the deepest knowledge
Sabha: An assembly or gathering
Brahman: The greatest truth, the one reality behind everything
Amrita: Not dying; the nectar of long life
Vidya: Knowledge and learning

Think and do

Talk about it. Gargi was not afraid to ask. What question would you ask a very wise teacher?

Try it. Write three "why" questions about the world. At dinner, ask one to someone at home and listen to the whole answer.

Remember: The courage to ask, and to learn.

Up next

Written for children from well-known scholarly and public sources, including UNESCO and the texts themselves. Nobody knows exactly when the Vedas were composed, so we say 'more than 3,000 years ago'. Families follow the Vedas in different ways; this series simply tells what the books are and what they say.