Arundhati, the Role Model for All Women - Part Two

Once Brahma Deva visited the ashrama. He told the sage, 'Now it is time to give Arundhati education. Only women will be able to teach girls well. Keep her with Savitri Devi and Bahula. Bahula is Gomata.'

The sage took Arundhati to Suryamandala and saw Savitri Devi and Bahula there. They both were going to Manasa Parvata. They were about to leave.

At Manasa Parvata, Savitri, Gayatri, Saraswathy, Bahula, and Drupada—these five mothers—get together every day and discuss dharma for the welfare of the world. They deliberate on how to take the world ahead in the proper way, for the benefit of everyone. They establish codes of conduct so that the whole world, including plants, birds, and animals, is benefited. They are mothers. They will be concerned.

Medhatithi requested the Devis to impart knowledge to his daughter. They said, 'Your daughter is already blessed. In her earlier birth, she had been the Manasa Putri of Brahma, Sandhya Devi, and was also blessed by Sri Hari after having seen her concern for the observance of dharma. This is why she has so much samskara at this young age. We will keep her with us as Brahma Deva wants and teach her.'

She learned from the mothers for seven years. Then, one day, Savitri Devi said, 'It is time to get Arundhati married.'

The Trimurthys themselves took Medhatithi to Vasishta Maharshi’s ashrama. There they saw Sage Vasishta, as brilliant as the sun.

You should get out of your mind the images of the sages that you must have seen in Purana films and serials. This is a stereotype that our media and film industry have created with the minimum exposure they have to the scriptures. Sages are not all seventy-eight-year-olds with grey hair and grey beards, wearing saffron clothes. Sages are not sanyasis. They are mostly householders. They have wives, and they have children.

And the sad part is that it is mostly actors who play side roles. This overall leaves a lacklustre image of the sages in our minds. Vasishta was as brilliant as Surya and, of course, young.

Upon being requested by Medhatithi, Sage Vasishta married Arundhati. When kanya dana is performed, you must have seen a stream of water poured over the palms of the bride and groom. This stream from Arundhati’s marriage became the seven holy rivers, such as Sarayu, Gomati, and Shipra.

Vasishta and Arundhati set up their ashrama at the foothills of the Himalayas. This is where King Dileepa served Nandini to beget a progeny.

Once, Swaha Devi tried to assume the form of Arundhati. She tried many times but could not. Swaha Devi went and told Arundhati, 'I did this. I could not. Nobody can be your equal. Pardon me.'

She also said, 'Any bride who remembers you at the time of pani grahanam will have all the saubagyas in her marital life.'

Once, Surya, Indra, and Agni came to the ashrama. Arundhati was going to the river to fetch water. They said, 'We have some doubts about dharma and want to clarify them with you.'

She said, 'Please wait. Let me get water, and then we will discuss.'

The Devas said, 'Why are you going up to the river? We will fill your pot with water with our power.'

Surya Deva tried. With all his power, he could fill only one-fourth of the pot. Indra tried hard. He could fill only another one-fourth. Agni Deva could fill another one-fourth. One-fourth remained empty even after all three of them tried so hard.

Then, Devi Arundhati started narrating dharma to them. Their doubts were cleared, and when she did this, the pot also filled to its brim with water.

Sage Vasishta was the guru of the Surya Vamsha. They both lived in Ayodhya for a long time. Even Lord Rama and Seetha Matha offered pranamas at the feet of Arundhati Devi. She achieved this unique position by her qualities.

We, as a society, should give this a serious thought. Should we try to make man and woman similar? I am not saying equal. Should they be the same? Similar?

One thing is obvious—divinity or nature has not meant it that way. Man and woman are made differently, by divinity, by nature.

Equality? Yes. Scriptures show in various ways that man and woman are equal. Prajapati Brahma divided himself into two parts—equally, as man and woman. So, equality is already established. Ardhanareeswara is another supporting concept.

But overall, if you see, our scriptures have put women above men in terms of power. Devi Bhagavata asks this question. Someone without power is called 'shakti heena,' not 'Shiva heena' or 'Vishnu heena.' So, power is with the woman.

The question is, should we as a society cultivate manly qualities in women? In this legend itself, we saw the qualities of Arundhati—tolerance, kindness, peace, humility, knowledge, discretion, commitment to marital vows. Should we replace these with or subsume these into killer instinct, street smartness, adventure, dominance? Should we replace feminine qualities with masculine qualities?

We have so many women who are very successful in their careers. They even make headlines when they are there, like CEOs of banks and corporates. But do you really think someone would even recognize their names a few decades down the line?

Arundhati is still there, even after kiloyears and kiloyears. We know her even today. We respect her. We worship her. We still look at her as a role model.

This, as a society, we need to think about. We have reservations for women in various fields—jobs, legislature, policy-making bodies. It is a great achievement that we have gained through democracy. But shouldn’t this be utilized to bring in that motherly touch to our policies—the care, the concern, the balance that is very much required?

Men have straight-jacket thinking. They are obsessed with success. They are capable of crushing anyone and anything under their feet to be successful. When you try to make women similar to men, in my opinion, we are actually degrading them. This is my opinion.

Shouldn’t the feminine presence—an equal presence—everywhere, be utilized to achieve balance? Balanced thinking? A balanced approach? Something only mothers are capable of?

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi