The Self Is Not Gendered: Sulabha's Debate with King Janaka by Ruth Vanita

 The Self Is Not Gendered: Sulabha's Debate with King Janaka by Ruth Vanita 

This essay highlights the debate on women and gender in ancient Indian texts. The recurrent figure of Sulabha, a single woman and an intellectual- renunciant is examined. The prime focus is on her debate with philosopher King Janaka in the epic Mahabharata. 

-Who is Sulabha? 

She is a single woman, a learner renunciant, who, in the ancient epic, Mahabharata wins a debate with the philosopher- King Janaka. In this debate, Sulabha logically establishes that there is no essential difference between a man and a woman; and a woman may achieve liberation by the same means as a man. 

-Modern and Ancient Debates on Women 

Scholars agree that women's status declined from the Vedic period to the period beginning about the first century CE. They differ however as to the extent of the decline

On the other hand, many Marxist and feminist critics argue that in this period woman " totally lost her human dignity" and has been a chattel in India ever since the later Vedic times" and internalised her subordination to the extent that she didn't protest or question it. 

The Sulabha- Janaka debate is contrasted with similar debate in Mahabharat- that between a married woman and the great sage Kaushika. Once again the woman wins the debate and proves that while following the conventional path of the wifely devotion, she is in fact more virtuous than he is. While many women could hope to be like her , fewer could aspire to be like Sulabha. 

- The Single Woman as Intellectual

Goddess Saraswati is very prominent in Indian popular culture, but the feminist scholars both in west and in India, have paid scarcely any attention to her. They have focused on warrior mother goddess but the education goddess is not paid much attention.  The appreance of Sulabha as a character is in the Shanti Parva of the epic Mahabharata, where she enters into a devate with King Janaka. 

-Context of the Debate

The Shanti Parva is a long section of Mahabharata which occurs as a conversation between the eldest of the five Pandava brothes, King Yudhishthira and his great-uncle Bhishma. After the battle , the Pandava's King and their allies go to visit Bhishma and asked several questions from him. One of which was - whether it is possible to attain emancipation from the cycle of rebirth without abandoning the domestic way of life.  In response, Bhishma recounts the story of Janaka and Sulabha. 

King Janaka is the epitome of the philosopher- King, a wise ruler who is also a sage. The female yogini Sulabha while wandering over the earth , hears from many ascetics that Janaka is devoted to the religion of emancipation so she decides to meet him. Using her Yoga power she assumes the form of a faultlessly beautiful young and presents herself to Janaka as a mendicant. The king welcomed her as an honoured guest. With her Yoga powers she entered the understanding of the King. The word "sanchodayishyanti", used for her action, indicates that she questions or examines him not in words but internally by her Yoga powers. Janaka is unused to being challenged or tested in this way, but what particularly irks him is that a woman dares to test him as an equal. 

•Janaka's Conventional View of Women

Interrupting Sulabha's questioning, Janaka addresses her at length. He states that he respects her and desire to know about her. He wanted to know who she is, whose she is, where she has come from, and where she is going. He declares that he is the only person who can discourse to her on emancipation. He claims that even though he is married, is king , he has attained knowledge of Atman and is free from all the attachments. He makes the bold claim that he is superior to all the ascetics who have renounced the world. He said, you Sulabha coz you are woman , are actually attached to the world, while he isn't. There is a bullying tone and masculine attitude towards Sulbha from a person who claims to be detached from the world and therefore from the social prejudices. 

# Arguments by Janaka

1) He begins his argument saying that Sulbha doesn't correspond to the ascetic way of life . She is delicate, shapely and youthful. Here he is emphasing that a young woman isn't capable of overcoming her desires for sensual and sexual pleasure. 

2) Her act of entering into him by Yoga powers is sinful. He equates it to a sexual union. First he considers her Brahmin so it's a inter Varna union , second she is an ascetic and he is a householder their union is an inappropriate mixture of two ways of life, third they aren't sure of their gotras, fourth if she is married, the union is sinful. 

3) He then goes on to say that she may have perpetrated all these sinful acts because of ignorance or perverted intelligence but by trying to display her superiority to men, she has shown herself to be a wicked woman. 

He then reiterates his question regarding who she is , whose she is , and where she has come from. 

• Sulabha's Philosophical Response

1) she said that the primal elements are all the same in all the bodies and beings and all the same consciousness pervades all existents, therefore if Janaka were truly knowledgeable he wouldn't have raised such a illogical question. 

2) She then elaborate upon the biological process of reproduction to demonstrate that sex difference is not an essential difference. To consider it essential is to be deluded. And if the king emphasis on sex difference shows that he is not liberated. 

3) She points out how little power or control a king has. Despite all his wealth and property he has to abide by certain regulations and orders.

4) Finally she demonstrates that her intellectual union with the king is not sinful. She has not touched him physically. The intellectual union between them was a private matter and by unmasking it and describing it as sexual he has disrespected himself,her and his courtiers.  She declares that their bodies are different but the souls are same of every human. A wise person knows that the self has no real connection with his/her own body , let alone the bodies of others. But Janaka misinterpreted it so he is midway, pretending to be emancipated. 

She also told him that she is a kshatriya, just like him. Janaka has betrayed his prejudices assumptions by assuming that all the ascetics are Brahmins or that only a Brahmin can be an ascetic. 

Janaka was unable to answer her reasoned words . This indicates that her argument were unanswerable. And she won the debate. 

• Janaka versus Sulabha: Arrogance versus Dignity 

- Sulabha provides a philosophical justification for equality and non differentiation between men and women.

- She said to Sulabha that not only he was wrong in considering her different because of gender but he acted wrongly when he followed social conventions regarding gender and reproched her for ignoring those conventions.

- Janaka's view for women are similar to Manu that a woman can't be free she must be under protection of a male.

- He also doubts that a beautiful young woman isn't capable of celibacy.- this misogynist doubt is in consonance with many pronouncements regarding the uncontrollable nature of women's sexual desires. 

- He defined his union with Sulabha as sexual which was very much wrong. It follows that he can't conceive of any communion or any union between men and women that is not sexual. 

- Janaka displays throughout an arrogance that is unbecoming to an emancipated or wise person and also to a good king. 

• Wifely Devotion as Agency

- The debate between a married woman and Kaushika in Mahabharata is similar to this debate. In this story the ascetic Kaushika go around to asking for alms and get annoyed when a devoted woman kept him waiting while serving her husband. Kaushika gave her a complete lecture on her behaviour. She told him that the true saint is not the one who read scriptures but who can also control his anger. She claims that as a devoted woman serving her husband is her first priority as she regard him as her highest God. 

• Hindu Philosophy and Women's Choice

- Sulabha's victory in the debate represents her own choice of life . The way she wanderers around freely and with yogic powers. Her arguments provide a philosophical justification within Hinduism for any woman to make unconventional choices. Her arguments are based on the oness of universal Atma these apply to every woman and everywhere. 

Mediaeval woman mystics like the famous poet and fifteenth century princes Mirabai also presents the example of women who led a single, independent life.