Sulabha ( Sanskrit: सुलभ ) was a female scholar who lived during the

Mithila Mithila may refer to: Places * Mithilā, a synonym for the ancient Videha state ** Mithilā (ancient city), the ancient capital city of Videha * Mithila (region), a cultural region (historical and contemporary), now divided between India and Nepa ...

Kingdom. She was a

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed ...

scholar knownas Brahmavadini. In ''Rigaveda'', a ''Samhita'' attributed to her was called ''Saulabha Samhita'', later lost. ''Sulabha'' was a learned woman who belonged to the mendicant order. She renounced worldly possessions and followed a spiritual path. The text describes her as well-versed in

Yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

, an ancient Indian discipline for physical, mental, and spiritual development.

Early life

Sulabha was a wandering Indian ascetic Y''ogini''. She had philosophical debates with the philosopher king

Janaka Janaka (, IAST: ''Janaka'') is the King of Videha who ruled from Mithila (region), Mithila, in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Janaka was married to Sunayana (Ramayana), Sunayana. He is the father of Sita and Urmila in the epic. The term Janaka ...

. She engaged in philosophical debate with King Janaka. She challenged traditional gender roles and argued for women's equality in achieving spiritual liberation. Her story of debating King Janaka is mentioned in ''Mokshadharma Parva'' Chapter 321 of

Shanti Parva The Shanti Parva (; IAST: ''Śānti parva)'' ("Book of Peace") is the twelfth of the eighteen ''parvas'' (books) of the Indian epic ''Mahabharata''. It traditionally has three parts and 365 chapters.Ganguli, K.M. (1883–1896)Shanti Parva in ''The ...

in ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

''. In the story

Yudhishthira Yudhishthira (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, ud̪ʱiʂʈʰiɾᵊ IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira''), also known as Dharmaputra, is the eldest among the five Pandavas, and is also one of the central characters of the ancient Indian epic ''Ma ...

asked

Bhishma Bhishma (), also known as Pitamaha, Gangaputra, and Devavrata, is a central figure in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was a statesman and military commander of the ancient Kuru Kingdom. Renowned for his wisdom, valor, and unwavering principles, ...

about the liberation of self without giving up a domestic lifestyle.

, in this connection, reference the story of the discourse between King Dharmadhwaja Janaka and ''Brahmavadini Sulbha''. The story of Sulabha and King Janaka is a famous example in the ''Sanatana'' tradition of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

about achieving enlightenment while living a householder's life. In the debate Sulabha clarified that she was born

Kshatriya Kshatriya () (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority"; also called Rajanya) is one of the four varnas (social orders) of Hindu society and is associated with the warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...

and belonged to a

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

. She was the daughter of the ascetic ''King Pradhāna'', but she was unable to find a husband to fit her. She traveled widely. While wandering in the

Kingdom, she heard about King Dharmadhwaja Janaka of

, who was known for his devotion to detachment and spiritual knowledge. Upon hearing of Mithila's dedication to attaining ''

moksha ''Moksha'' (; , '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'', and ''mukti'', is a term in Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, liberation, '' nirvana'', or release. In its soteriological and eschatologic ...

'' (liberation), she desired to test his resolve and to meet him. Sulabha used her ''yogic'' powers to transform herself into a woman of unmatched beauty. Disguised as a mendicant, Sulabha met King Janaka. She approached King Janaka to test his

equanimity Equanimity is a state of psychological stability and composure which is undisturbed by the experience of or exposure to emotions, pain, or other phenomena that may otherwise cause a loss of mental balance. The virtue and value of equanimity is ...

and detachment from worldly attractions.. In this debate, Sulabha logically established that no essential difference distinguished man and woman. She demonstrated by her own example that a woman can attain liberation on the same terms as a man.

References

{{Reflist Feminism and spirituality Mithila Mahabharata Indian philosophers Ancient Mithila University Vedas Hinduism