Female philosophers

Some female scholars of traditional Indian philosophy from the 18th and 19th centuries Dr. Satyan Sharma

Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/satyansharma/

Academia : https://puchd.academia.edu/SharmaSatyan

Abstract

When we talk of scholars of traditional Indian philosophy, although we do not intend to do so, we generally think of those scholars as men. We are not to blame, because what all is available under the category of traditional Indian philosophy, is mostly represented by men, as far as the current set of available information is concerned. It is good to ask about the existence female scholars in the same field. We do find certain scriptural sanctions for what kind of ‘spiritual-knowledge’ women are eligible for. Historical data for the existence of female ascetics are available, which suggest that there were at least some women who thought about, spoke about and practised parts of what all is tagged as traditional Indian philosophy. What about the India of the 18th and 19th centuries? This was a time when the political and religious landscape had undergone, and was still undergoing a lot of change. Were there any female scholars of traditional Indian philosophy then? The answer is yes. In this paper I present a list of nine such Indian women, who either produced a work on traditional Indian philosophy or were recognised as learned in it or even as professing it.

A few of these scholars were ascetics. The schools of philosophy to which these scholars may have belonged are Tantra, non-dual Vedānta, Haṭha Yoga, Nyāya and Navya- Nyāya.

Introduction

I do not find it relevant to the context of this paper to begin a detailed description on what the books on sacred-law ( Dharma- śāstras) of the Hindus say about the eligibility of women for learning and professing traditional Indian philosophy. It is has been repeated time and again that the epic poems ( Itihāsas) and Purāṇas acted as the sources of sacred-knowledge for Śūdras and women (Kane, 2007, pp. 924-925).

Generally, Vedas and the texts directly concerned with them, were not considered as open to be studied by all. Despite this, there were voices of dissent, recorded as ‘opponents’ ( pūrvapakṣa) in various traditional Sanskrit texts. That they had at least some impact on their contemporary society, can be inferred. The existence of female ascetics does give us a hint of the possibility of a general exposure of women to traditional Indian philosophy. In her work (Denton, 2004), Emily Lynn Denton notes: Although women and girls constitute only a small proportion of the total, there are and probably always have been female ascetics, pursuing an asceticism which is indistinguishable from that of their male peers and fully integrated within the larger ascetic community. (Denton, 2004, p. 2) Some of the ideas pervading asceticism are of bondage and liberation (Denton, 2004, p. 2), which implies a necessary philosophical background for the ascetics in general. Similar ideas are indeed very popular among the general population in India, especially the Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists, who believe in the ideas of some kind of bondage, its causes, liberation from bondage and the ways in which such liberation could be

attained. Even the so-called plain religious beliefs are pervaded by such basic ideas, which imply that in some form, philosophy is a constituent element in the aforementioned religious systems. This is why you may see a regular Hindu, for instance, who is not even literate, using very philosophically loaded religious terms (for example; in Hindi: moha- māyā, ātmā- paramātmā, mukti, and so on). Statements like “God is everywhere”, “God resides is in every particle”, “birth and death are bondage”, so on and so forth, can be heard in conversations which would usually not be termed as philosophical. This is not something new. It could be, that even in the absence of a formal system of training with regard to traditional Indian philosophy, people in the earlier times could have had some exposure to it (as they do today), which could have further developed into a special interest for knowing more. It could be at his stage, that the popular notion in rural India (and even semi-rural) that one must have a Guru (spiritual master), who would initiate his/her disciple with a mantra, or name of God and even teach some spiritual practices. This Guru, would then also initiate his/her disciples directly into philosophical ideas and texts. The disciples, which could include both ascetics and householders, men and women, would get an access to such knowledge systems. It is also a common thing in many parts of India, where large-scale events are organised for chanting and explaining epic poems ( Itihāsas) and Purāṇas ( Bhāgavata- purāṇa is rather more popular), and common people, literate as well as illiterate, gather in huge numbers to listen and participate. No doubt, they carry some of those ideas back home, think about them and eventually may even discuss them with others.

As shall be seen, some texts cited below appear as purely religious or spiritual from the outside, but contain inside them philosophical ideas. This leads to some misconceptions about the Indian tradition, such as the absence of pure philosophy in India, absence of ‘knowledge for the sake of knowledge’, and absence of academism (Aklujkar, 2017, p. 35). Philosophy in India must be seen from the point of view of the religio-philosophical culture unique to India. This also widens the application of what a text of traditional Indian philosophy could look like. As ‘philosophy’ looks like a stiff terminology, must not there be some necessary and sufficient conditions to term something as philosophy? There are none, and the decision regarding which intellectual activity is termed as philosophy or not, is a choice which scholarly communities would make (Smith, 2017, p. 68). Some excerpts from such texts which have been presented below, I hope, will convince the reader to view them as belonging to some form of traditional Indian philosophy.

Female scholars of traditional Indian philosophy from the 18th and 19th centuries

I did not consciously begin to create a list of female scholars of traditional Indian philosophy, belonging to the 18th and 19th centuries. I only happened to either get an access to some of their works or their account as mentioned by contemporary or nearly contemporary persons. It was only when I had a few names and accounts in front of me that I thought of creating a brief descriptive list of them. The basis on which I have created this list is that any Indian woman, belonging to the 18th and 19th centuries, who displays knowledge of at least one of the schools of traditional Indian philosophy, not limited to the popularly known six schools, can be considered as a philosopher of the traditional Indian philosophy. It is true that every student of philosophy may not necessarily be a philosopher. Due to a lack of detailed accounts of at least a few of the women in the list, we cannot simply rule out the possibility of them at least holding discussions and indulging in application of whatever they had learned. Discussion and application are an integral part of the traditional setup for learning Indian philosophy. Also, just as there is no necessary or sufficient condition regarding what could be called philosophy, similar could be with the question of who is a philosopher. It is for this reason that I have assumed some of them as being philosophers, whereas others, whose explicit philosophical works are known, must have applied and discussed philosophy, in which sense they can indeed be categorised as philosophers in the traditional Indian systems. Only two of them have composed their texts in Sanskrit, while others have employed non-Sanskrit native Indian languages for the purpose.

1. Rūpa Bhavānī (1621 CE - 1721 CE)

Born in Kashmir to the family of Mādhava Dhara as Alakṣyeśvarī, Rūpa Bhavānī was a Shaivite devotee.

Her sayings (lit. Vakh), originally in the native language of Kashmir, have been translated into English. Her work seems to be based on, Tantra, Yoga, and certain non-dualistic notions and direct experiences. She was a householder. A few verses of Rūpa Bhavānī, translated into English by Aparna Dhar, are being presented here:

With pure resolve, the devotee awakens the Kuṇḍalinī Shakti from the Mūlādhāra Chakra. This coiled or potential Shakti is circular in shape and white in colour.

With pure desire for liberation, by subtle practices of deep meditation, and becoming detached from worldly allurements, the devotee comes to rest in his spiritual nature, or the Kuṇḍalinī Shakti attains its peaceful location.

The realm of Ishwara is attained in the state of Turīya. This is the blissful state of union with the supreme Being.

When a devotee looks inwards, within his own soul, he realizes the secret of Liberation, and attains to the supreme State.

(Bhavani, 1997, p. 15)

(I who Am) the Atman cannot be sown as a seed (in the cycle of creation). The Atman is not water or fire; nor is it the elements of wind and air; the Atman is limitless all-pervading and omnipresent.

The Atman is not of the nature of the universe, nor is it limited to one’s soul.

The Atman is of the nature of Divine Shakti. I who am the Atman have become one with the Supreme Brahman.

(Bhavani, 1997, pp. 26-27)

The Iḍā and Piṅgalā Nāḍis cannot reveal the Atman; only when the Suṣumnā Nāḍi becomes opened, Brahman is realized.

I myself am the right method by which the Suṣumnā Nāḍi becomes opened. I indeed am also the Suṣumnā Nāḍi.

The Atman is causeless and without any defect; it is known in the state of Turīya (superconscious state).

This is the state of supreme Bliss. I who am the Atman have become one with the supreme Brahman.

(Bhavani, 1997, p. 35)

In these excerpts, one can see a fusion of non-dualistic notions of reality as well as Yoga.

2. Prāṇamañjarī (18th century)

Her Sanskrit commentarial work on the Tantrarāja- tantra titled Sudarśana has been published under the series ‘Contribution of Women to Sanskrit Literature’, Volume 5. She is thus connected with the Tantra philosophy. She was the daughter of Harṣadeva and Harṣamatī of Kūrmācala, also known as Kumaun. Her husband was Premanidhi, a scholar himself, and an inhabitant of Kumaun. Him being a Brāhmaṇa, it is possible that Prāṇamañjarī too was from the same community. Jatindrabimal Chaudhuri notes some peculiarities about her interpretations:

Again, the text enjoins on the Guru making the disciple understand the significance of yoni-mudrā-bandhana for the safety of the latter. Subhagānandanātha understands by yoni-mudrā the movement of both the vital breath and the mind from the mystical circle mūlādhara in the lower part below the navel to the aperture called Brahma-randhra in the crown of the head, through which the soul escapes in death ; and by bandhana, investigation. Prāṇamañjarī is not ready to accept this view. She thinks that ‘yoni’ is identical with kuṇḍalini, the source of the three worlds, triangular in form and situated near the pericarp of the four-petalled lotus at the root of the artery suṣumnā (lying between the vessels called iḍā and piṅgalā). Mudrā, she thinks, is the same as the supreme deity, consciousness itself, situated below the thousand-petalled lotus of the Brahma-randhra and the source of immense joy to the kuṇḍalinī (mud+rā) ; bandhanam refers to the three-fold lustres shooting up, down as well as both up and down as the three worlds originate out of the intermixture of these three types of lustre. Thus, she comes to the conclusion that yoni-mudrā-bandhana means an investigation into the real nature of the above three in the method mentioned above.

(1940, pp. xxv-xxvi)

3. Sahajo Bāī (b. 1725 CE)

Her only available work is Sahaja- prakāśa which is in a form of Hindi language. Born in 1725 CE, she was a disciple of a Yogin and saint Caraṇa Dāsa. Her work is in verses and although it may look like a merely devotional poem prima facie, yet a careful study shall reveal the use of philosophical concepts, implying their study and application. She has spoken about the nature of the individual self ( Jīva), Brahman and the world. She also mentions various concepts related to Yoga, like Nāḍīs, breath, chanting mantras and names, so on and so forth. The text was completed in roughly 1743 CE ( Vikrama Saṃvat 1800). She is said to have belonged to the Dūsara ( Ḍhūsara?) community of Rajasthan. Her preceptor also belonged to the same. She can be identified with the Haṭha Yoga and non-dual Vedānta schools of philosophy. Some translated excerpts of her poem are being presented here:

If you are interested in the body,
each part changes
from top to toe.
Only the soul is immortal,
Sahajo says:
it pervades the body
and is indivisible. (Bai, 2001, p. 95)
The nature of the dream
creates all that we see:
heaven, the mortal realm and hell.
The three worlds
are built of lies.
Sahajo says:
they are Indra’s web. (Bai, 2001, p. 181)
The soul becomes Brahma in an instant.
How can there be any more death?
On gaining immortality, one becomes a god.
Such is the effect of the Guru’s words. (Bai, 2001, p. 235)
They have disciplined the body,
they have controlled
the life-force and the down-breath.
Sahajo says:
he who has mastered the mudras
is a true yogi. (Bai, 2001, p. 75)

In these excerpts, Sahajo tells us that the individual soul/self ( Jīva) is immortal, eternal and becomes Brahman. She also tells that the world, which we experience as real, is really an illusion, Indra’s web.

Sahajo’s own spiritual practices included regular worship, chanting of ’ Soham’ mantra, practice of Haṭha Yoga and breath-controlling techniques called prāṇāyāma, the use of inner physiological locks ( bandha), so on and so forth (Bai, 2001, p. xiv). Through her writing, it is known that she had knowledge of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa and Bhagavad- Gītā (Bai, 2001, pp. xiv-xv). She mentions Bhagavad- Gītā thus: In the Gita, Shri Krishna spoke

of the two modes
in which He reveals Himself.
“All life resides in me:
the animate
and the inanimate.”
“I am indivisible
and all-pervasive.”
Sahajo says:
He never changes.
“The wise find me close at hand.
The fool believes that I am far away.”
“The yogi finds me through yoga.
The wise find me through the mind.”
Sahajo says:
I found Him through devotion.
I found Him through love. (Bai, 2001, pp. 197 and 199)

Prior to composing this text, Sahajo must have had listened to the scriptural discourses by her preceptor. She may have got an access to an ample scriptural knowledge of Haṭha Yoga, non-dualistic philosophy.

4. Dayā Bāī (18th century)

Her work Dayā-*bodha * and Vinaya-mālikā have been published. She was also a disciple of Caraṇa Dāsa. The language and style of her work resembles the style of Sahajo Bāī. She too is said to have belonged to the same community as the former. The contents of her work are similar to those of Sahaja- prakāśa. She can be said to belong to the Yoga and Advaita Vedānta schools of philosophy. Dayā-bodha was completed in 1751 CE, where as Vinaya-mālikā was completed in 1798 CE (Bai, 2005, p. 11). Some translated verses of the former text are given below:

Victory, victory to the Lord of Supreme Bliss! The Supreme Being is beautiful and dwells in all things. He is the treasure-house of mercy. Daya bows down to You again and again. (Bai, 2005, p. 29)

The form of Brahma is a deep, dark ocean of bliss. The waves of ecstasy rise higher and higher, never resting until the mind is stable. (Bai, 2005, p. 29)

Wherever He goes, the mind disappears. This is the nature of the Self. Daya saw this with amazement and felt the bonds of incomparable love. (Bai, 2005, p. 29).

Gurudev Charandas said to me: “Daya, chant day and night, meditate on the mantra soham, I am, the essence of all meditation.” (Bai, 2005, p. 45)

“Fix your gaze in front of your nostrils. Fix your mind on your breath.” Being merciful, He told me this, the True Guru said these words to me. (Bai, 2005, p. 45)

“Having seated yourself in the lotus posture, fix your gaze within yourself. Daya, chant the unchanted chant. Absorb your consciousness in your breath.” (Bai, 2005, p. 45)

“Fix your consciousness above, below, in the middle.” Daya sees her own abode; all her suffering has gone. (Bai, 2005, p. 45)

In the translation of verses from Dayā-bodha presented above, we can clearly see two points; one, the nature of Self as mysterious and bliss, which when put together with the chant " soham" (which literally means “that I am”), the unity or non-duality between the supreme Self and individual Self has been accepted, and two, a clear step-by-step teaching of Yogic meditative chanting. One can see a fusion of non-dual Vedānta and Haṭha Yoga. She too seems to have listened to scriptural discourses.

5. Kāmākṣī (b. ~1852 CE)

She belonged to a Brāhmaṇa family, and was a resident of Mayavaram. After losing her husband in 1871, when she was around 19 years old, encouraged by her brothers and father, she took up to studying Sanskrit and philosophy. She has written three works in Sanskrit which have been published. Her Advaitadīpikā is based on Advaitasiddhi. written on the request of her younger brother. Her Nīlakaṇṭhīyaviṣayamālā is a commentary on Nyāyabodhinī (a commentary on Annambhaṭṭa’s Tarkasaṅgraha). She has also authored a short commentary on Tryambaka Śāstrī’s Śrutiratnaprakāśa. All these works were published later during the first half of the 20th century. Her command over the Navya- nyāya style of language can be seen in all of her works. For instance, in her Nīlakaṇṭhīyaviṣayamālā, she explains the definition of the substance air ( vāyu)

‘possessor of touch and devoid of colour’ ( rūparahitasparśavān) in this manner: Devoid of colour, (here) the third declension means counterpositiveness. The connection of colour with counterpositiveness is through the superstratumness-relation. Hence it was, counterpositiveness resident in colour. The meaning of the verb root ’ rah’ is absence. The counterpositiveness is connected with absence through the describerness-relation. Hence the absence which is the describer of the counterpositiveness resident in colour. The meaning of suffix ’ kta’ is ‘possessor of substratumness’. The connection of absence with substratumness is through describerness-relation.
Hence air is the possessor of substratumness described by the absence, (which is the) describer of the counterpositiveness resident in colour.

This kind of hairsplitting analysis style shows her dedicated training and practice in Navya- nyāya. Similar can be found in other two texts authored by her.

6. Hatī Vidyālaṅkāra (18th to 19th century CE)

She belonged to a Kulīna Brāhmaṇa family from a place called Rarh in Bengal. After becoming a widow in her childhood in the 18th century, she learned Sanskrit śāstras. One of her areas of proficiency was philosophy (Chakrabarti & Chakrabarti, 2013, p. 488), specifically Nabanyāya or Navya- nyāya (Borthwick, 1984, p. 22). She herself taught the śāstras at her school in Benares. Any text, authored by her could not be found. Some years after her demise, she finds a mention in William Ward’s work (Ward, 1820, pp. 503-504).

7. Śyāmasundarī (at least before 1822 CE)

1 rūpeṇa rahitaḥ rūparahitaḥ tṛtīyāyāḥ pratiyogitā’rthaḥ | pratiyogitāyāṃ rūpasya ādheyatāsaṃbaṃdhenānvayaḥ |

tathā ca rūpaniṣṭhapratiyogitety āsīt | rahadhātoḥ abhāvorthaḥ | *abhāve pratiyogitāyāḥ *

nirūpakatvasaṃbandhenānvayaḥ | tathā ca rūpaniṣṭhapratiyogitānirūpakābhāvaḥ | ktapratyayasya āśrayatāvān arthaḥ |

āśrayatāyāṃ abhāvasya nirūpitatvasaṃbandhenānvayaḥ | tathā ca rūpaniṣṭhapratiyogitānirūpakābhāvanirūpitāśrayatāvān vāyuḥ | (Amma, 1912, p. 13)

She was mentioned by Radha Kanta Dev (1784-1867) in his essay ’ Stri Siksha Vidhayaka’ published in 1822 (in collaboration with Gourmohan Vidyalankar) as having gained great proficiency in Nyāya philosophy (Mitra, 1902, p. 223). She was a native of the Faridpore district. No work of her could be found.

8. Veṅkaṭamāmbā (b. 1730 CE)

Also known as Vengamamba, she was born to a Brāhmaṇa family in Tarigonda of Chittoor district. After becoming a widow in her childhood, keeping in view her spiritual inclinations, Sri Rupavataram Subrahmanya Sastri of Madanapalle, a spiritual scholar took her as her disciple, from whom she learnt Vedānta and Yoga from her preceptor (Hanumanthu, 2008, pp. 5-6). Among the many Telugu works she has authored, at least two works are of philosophical nature; Rajayogamruthasaram and Ashtangayogasaramu, in which she has expounded Yoga. For detailed account and a summary of the contents of her works, see Hanumanthu, 2008. In her translation of ’ Sri Venkatachala Mahaatmyam’, at the request of enquirers, she added the text titled ’ Ashtangayogasaramu’, where she has explained, also through her own experience, the eight limbs of yoga. Thus has it been presented by K. Hanumanthu:

Yamamu (self control) : Knowing and restraining or controlling the passions of the body in the world from sensual desires.
Niyama (principle) : To retain virtuous thoughts about Brahman.
Asana : Posture of sitting etc. whichever posture enables one to sit comfortably to think about Brahman constantly, is termed as Aasana.
Pranayama : “To reject the world is exhaling. Inhalation is the act of thinking. “I am myself Brahman”. To mix these two operations is “Kumbhaka”, the exercise in which the breath is suspended. By considering everything as Brahman, divine state is obtained, in which all bodily parts are restrained which is pranayama.
Pratyahara : By finding the self in all actions, concentrating the mind on that consciousness and ultimately becoming that.
Dharana : Finding Brahman wherever the mind goes and turning it inwards.
Dhyana : To gain the firm knowledge that “I am the Brahman” and retain it permanently.
Samadhi : To have undisturbed mind and think that everything is Brahman and in the end forgetting even that thought, is the state of Samadhi (final emancipation) which is beyond the reach of description of the mind or word. (Hanumanthu, 2008, pp. 37-38)

The manner in which the eight limbs of Yoga have been defined, there clearly is an influence of non-dual Vedānta. In her work ‘Siva Natakam’, she has said that she belongs to the Advaita tradition (Hanumanthu, 2008, p. 49). In the ‘Bhagavata’ written by her, she has explained philosophy in a way in which common people could understand (Hanumanthu, 2008, p. 50).

In her Rājayoga-sāra she says:

Some, practising different yogas such as Mantra-yoga, Haṭha-yoga and Laya-yoga with a view to obtaining siddhis (powers) begin to roam about, demonstrating their miracles to the ignorant. This is, after all, superficial yoga, and these are false yogis. Saints who are adepts in the knowledge of God never hanker after such things as making the body immune from disease, old age and death.

(Chirantanananda, 1955, p. 92).

Yoga must be practised uninterruptedly (for a long time). Without constant practice the mind becomes the hotbed of vices like lust and anger.

One who practises discrimination, renunciation, control of the mind and the senses, endurance, abstinence from sensual enjoyment, tranquility, faith in the words of the teacher and the scriptures; one who considers another man’s wife as his mother, who does not hanker after other’s wealth, . . .

who takes refuge at the feet of the Lord, . . . such a one alone is fit for illumination and liberation in this very life. (Chirantanananda, 1955, p. 92)

9. Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī (b. ~1822 CE)

She is said to have met the preceptor of Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, and was a practitioner of Tantra. She used to carry Tantra texts with her, with which she had once explained the experiences of Ramakrishna (Saradananda, 1952, p. 187). It is told that she and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa met during about 1861, when the latter knew that she was almost forty years old (Saradananda, 1952, p. 185). She had also initiated him into Tantric practices (Saradananda, 1952, pp. 191-192). She was a pragmatic philosopher in the sense that she believed in the view that the scriptures advised the practitioners to compare their own experiences with what has been stated by the preceptor and the scriptures (Saradananda, 1952, p. 192). Ramakrishna is himself told to have said:

The Brahmani made me undertake, one by one, all the disciplines prescribed in the sixty-four main Tantras, all difficult to accomplish, in trying to practise which most of the Sadhakas go astray ; but all of which I got through successfully by Mother’s grace. (Saradananda, 1952, p. 195)

Names of some other scholars:

i. Mīnākṣī Śāstrī of Hanumanta (Hanuman?) Ghat in Benares, had a school where Vedānta and Mīmāṃsā were taught (Ward, 1820, p. 492).

ii. Lakṣmī Śāstrī of Agnishvar Ghat in Benares, had a school where Nyāya was taught (Ward, 1820, p. 493).

iii. Devī Tarkālaṅkāra of Nudeeya (Nadia), had a college where Law or Dharmaśāstra was taught (Ward, 1820, p. 494). The title ’ Tarkālaṅkāra’ (the one whose ornament is logic) implies knowledge of Nyāya and teaching of Dharmaśāstra implies knowledge of Mīmāṃsā.

iv. Pārvatī Tarkabhūṣaṇa of Thanthaniya in Calcutta, had a college where Nyāya and Smṛti texts were principally taught (Ward, 1820, p. 496).

v. Rūpa Kumārī Devī, the erstwhile queen of Jaipur in India, wife of Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II. She has authored a Hindi text on Vedānta titled Vedāntapuṣpāṃjali. She is told to be very aged when this text was published for the first time in 1921 (Devī, 1921, p. 14). The author mostly follows the Śāṅkara Vedānta.

vi. Gaṅgā Devī, born in a Gauḍa- Brāhmaṇa family and was trained in Sanskrit and Hindi by her father. After her marriage, she kept studying Vedānta texts. She was the teacher of Rūpa Kumārī Devī and collaborated with the latter in authoring Vedāntapuṣpāṃjali. By the time of publishing of the text, she too was a grand old lady, taken care of by her grandchildren (Devī, 1921, p. 16).

I have separated these cases from those mentioned above because although the names are surely feminine, yet some confirmation is needed. As told previously, Ward who mentions the first four women, has also mentioned Hatī Vidyālaṅkāra (Ward, 1820, pp. 503-504). Hatī’s acceptance as a teacher in Benares and her earning of the title ’ Vidyālaṅkāra’ (one whose ornament is knowledge) makes it highly probable that the Mīnākṣī and Lakṣmī mentioned above could indeed be females teaching in Benares. Devī Tarkālaṅkāra’s and Pārvatī Tarkabhūṣaṇa’s cases also seem likely. Rūpa Kumārī Devī being very aged in 1921, it is highly probable that she was present and actively participating in the matters of Indian philosophy at least during the last decade of the 19th century. Her teacher Gaṅgā Devī’s case seems to be similar.

Discussion

The presented list contains female scholars from almost all directions of India. Not only this, they also belong to diverse backgrounds. While most are from Brāhmaṇa communities, we also find two from trader or Vaiśya community of Rajasthan. Except for two, the works mentioned here have been composed in the non-Sanskrit native Indian languages. The various works have philosophical ideas which resemble those of Tantra, Navya- nyāya, Advaita Vedānta and some are a combination of non-dual Vedānta and Haṭha Yoga.

Because most works are in non-Sanskrit native Indian languages, there is a need to translate them into English, so that a wider audience can get an access to them. The works of Rūpa Bhavānī, Sahajo Bāī and Dayā Bāī have already been translated into English. Each work needs to be studied in detail and its place in the long Indian tradition of philosophical thinking should be assessed. The appearance of some of these works as merely religious or devotional, should not discourage us from exploring the philosophical ideas of these works and their authors. Texts on Indian philosophy have an outward appearance of such a manner. For a devotee, an entity like God, does not simply exist, but rather exists in a particular way, which makes that person a devotee. The devotee then would also ask about or think about who they themselves are, in what way do they exist? In this way, a devotee cannot escape philosophy. The concepts of bondage, its cause, liberation and its cause, also add colours to the philosophical background of devotion. Discussion also forms a part of devotion, as in when devotees and their preceptors discuss scriptural ideas of devotion, their own experiences and so forth. The preceptors themselves may belong to a sect which has an affiliation to some kind of a traditional Indian philosophical school. The works of devotional nature, in the Indian context, do appeal to various kind of metaphysics, ontology and so forth.

There is a whole world of Indian philosophy beyond the Sanskrit works. Studying the vernacular works and their translations could give us a picture of this field, spreading out in an area which may not be possible for Sanskrit. Examination of the presently available translations of vernacular works and if need be, bringing out newer translations of such works, is a task we must now keep engaging with. After all, if Indian philosophy is not limited to Sanskrit, in the absence of necessary attention towards its vernacular works, we will not be able to get a true and a more dynamic picture of it. The general attitude of looking at vernacular works as secondary and those of Sanskrit as primary, needs to be reviewed and changed for good.

The list presented in this paper is only the starting point. Other such female scholars could be searched for, identified and their works found and studied. It cannot be emphasised enough, that without studying the works and contributions of its female scholars, and those too composed in the vernacular medium, we cannot get a holistic understanding of traditional Indian philosophy. A point worth noting is that three scholars had become active in the field after having become widows. What were the religious, social and educational powers at play during their times and in their regions? This is another area of enquiry and research into the complexities of Indian culture and its interactions with the knowledge traditions.

References

Primary Sources

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