[Advaita-l] Women and Paramahamsa sannyasa

[Sunil Bhattacharjya]

Namaste,

Do you really want to call the Mahabharata a smriti?

Regards,,
Sunil KB



________________________________
 From: V Subrahmanian <v.subrahmanian at gmail.com>
To: A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> 
Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2012 11:54 PM
Subject: [Advaita-l] Women and Paramahamsa sannyasa
 
In the Brahmasutra Bhashya Shankara cites an instance of a certain
aparokSha jnAnI named 'sulabhA', a woman, who had a spiritual discourse
with a King named Janaka:

यावदधिकारं अवस्थितिराधिकारिकाणाम्  । ब्रह्मसूत्र ३,३.३२  ।


//यथाहि सुलभा नाम ब्रह्मवादिनी जनकेन विवदितुकामा अव्युदस्य स्वं देहं जानकं
देहमाविश्य व्युद्य तेन पश्चात्स्वमेव देहमाविवेशेति *स्मर्यते*  । //


That Shankara is quoting from the Mahabharatha, a smRti,  is evident from
this episode found in the shAntiparvan (MokShadharma) therein:


अथ धर्मयुगे तस्मिन्योगधर्ममनुष्ठिता।

महीमनुचचारैका सुलभा नाम भिक्षुकी॥ 12-320-7
तया जगदिदं कृत्स्नमटन्त्या मिथिलेश्वरः।
तत्र तत्र श्रुतो मोक्षे कथ्यमान*स्त्रिदण्डिभिः*॥ 12-320-8
SulabhA has heard about Janaka's mokSha being spoken of by TridaNDi
sannyAsins.


सातिसूक्ष्मां कथां श्रुत्वा तथ्यं नेति ससंशया।
दर्शने जातसङ्कल्पा जनकस्य बभूव ह॥ 12-320-9
तत्र सा विप्रहायाथ पूर्वरूपं हि योगतः।

अबिभ्रदनवद्याङ्गी रूपमन्यदनुत्तमम्॥ 12-320-10

चक्षुर्निमेषमात्रेण लघ्वस्त्रगतिगामिनी।
विदेहानां पुरीं सुभ्रूर्जगाम कमलेक्षणा॥ 12-320-11
सा प्राप्य मिथिलां रम्यां प्रभूतजनसङ्कुलाम्।

भैक्ष्यचर्यापदेशेन ददर्श मिथिलेश्वरम्॥ 12-320-12
राजा तस्याः परं दृष्ट्वा सौकुमार्यं वपुस्तदा।
केयं कस्य कुतो वेति बभूवागतविस्मयः॥ 12-320-13
ततोऽस्याः स्वागतं कृत्वा व्यादिश्च च वरासनम्।

पूजितां पादशौचेन वरान्नेनाप्यतर्पयत्॥ 12-320-14
अथ भुक्तवती प्रीत्या[प्रीता] राजानं मन्त्रिभिर्वृतम्।

सर्वभाष्यविदां मध्ये चोदयामास *भिक्षुकी*॥12-320-15
सुलभा त्वस्य धर्मेषु मुक्तो नेति ससंशया।
सत्त्वं सत्त्वेन योगज्ञा प्रविवेश महीपतेः॥ 12-320-16
नेत्राभ्यां नेत्रयोरस्य रश्मीन्संयम्य रश्मिभिः।
सा स्म तं चोदयिष्यन्ती योगबन्धैर्बबन्ध ह॥12-320-17
जनकोऽप्युत्स्मयन्राजा भावमस्या विशेषयन्। प्रतिजग्राह भावेन भावमस्या
नृपोत्तम॥ 12-320-18
तदेकस्मिन्नधिष्ठाने संवादः श्रूयतामयम्।
छत्रादिषु विमुक्तस्य *मुक्तायाश्च त्रिदण्डके*॥ 12-320-19
Here Sulabhaa is said to be bereft of the trdaNDa while she is in the guise
of a beautiful woman.
भगवत्याः क्व चर्येयं कृता क्व च गमिष्यसि।
कस्य च त्वं कुतो वेति पप्रच्छैनां महीपतिः॥ 12-320-20

श्रुते वयसि जातौ च सद्भावो नाधिगम्यते।
एष्वर्थेषूत्तरं तस्मात्प्रवेद्यं मत्समागमे॥ 12-320-21
छत्रादिषु विशेषेषु मुक्तं मां विद्धि तत्त्वतः।
स त्वां सम्मन्तुमिच्छामि मानार्हा हि मतासि मे॥ 12-320-22
सोऽहमेवङ्गतो मुक्तो जातास्थस्त्वयि *भिक्षुकि*।

अयथार्थं हि ते वर्णं वक्ष्यामि शृणु तन्मम॥ 12-320-53
वर्णप्रवरमुख्यासि *ब्राह्मणी* क्षत्रियस्त्वहम्।

नावयोरेकयोगोऽस्ति मा कृथा वर्णसङ्करम्॥ 12-320-59


Quite interestingly, in the first chapter of the 'Jivanmuktiviveka' Swami
Vidyaranya, after specifying two types of sannyasa, one where only the
kAmya is renounced and the other the regular paramahamsa sannyasa, mentions
that even women are eligible to take to this sannyasa.  In this place, a
commentary ('chaturdharI' / 'bhAvadIpaH') on the above 'sulabhA' episode of
the Mahabharatha, by NIlakanTha is quoted to say:


//The ChaturdharI TIkA of the Mokshadharma, by using the word 'bhikShukI'
(female mendicant) with reference to the lady in question when dealing with
the controversy between SulabhA and Janaka, indicates that females may
renounce before marriage, or after the death of their husbands and may go
about as religious mendicants, may learn and hear the shAstra-s dealing
with mokSha (namely the Upanishad-s and cognate literature), may meditate
upon the Atman in seclusion and assume the emblems of tri-danDa, etc. //


That married women are part of almost every ritual undertaken by the
husband is well known.  That is why they are called 'sahadharmiNI or
sahadharmachAriNI'. It is significant that the above commentary says that
women can take to the above type of sannyasa before marriage or after their
husbands have died.


In the cited Mahabharatha verses there is one verse which informs us that
sulabhA was carrying the tridanDa (which she had temporarily laid away
during the conversation with Janaka):

छत्रादिषु विमुक्तस्य *मुक्तायाश्च त्रिदण्डके*॥ 12-320-19

Here the commentary says: उभावपि स्थूलदेहोपस्कारं त्यक्तवन्तावित्यर्थः ।
[Both Janaka and sulabhA had laid away the insignia/indicatory marks that
go with their gross bodies.  Janaka had kept away the 'chatra', etc. that
are the royal insignia and SulabhA, her tridaNDa.]


Though the practice of women taking up the paramahamsa sannyasa (with
tridanDa) is not encountered today, there is evidence in the smRti for such
a practice having been in  vogue.  The cited episode in the Mahabharatha,
along with the commentary of nIlakanTha is available for downloading here:


http://asi.nic.in/asi_books/8999.pdf   pp.369-375



subrahmanian.v
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