Ubhaya Bharati & Adi Shankaracharya

In our patriarchal society we have raised Mandana Mishra to the first head of Shringeri Sharada Peetham and sanctified the brilliant scholar and Mandana’s wife Ubhaya Bharati as Devi Sharadamba ! Such a deprivation for society!!!

Legend says she was an incarnation of Devi Saraswati. A brilliant mind who knew dharma, kartavya and was erudite in Ved Puran and other Sanskrit literature. History records that when the two leading scholars Mandana Mishra of Purva Mimamsa and Adi Shankaracharya of Advait Vedanta sat down to debate on ShastrArtha Ubhaya Bharati was appointed as a judge for her deep knowledge. 

She placed fresh flower garlands around the necks of both the scholars. Her logic was that the person who starts to struggle will generate body heat due to stress and that will lead to withering of the flowers. Thus the person will be declared defeated. In this way she has shown unbiased approach to judging. 

Mandana Mishra put forward that Karma Kanda is the way propagated by Vedas. It is active work, ritual execution and fulfilling householder duties leads to Moksha.

Adi Shankaracharya’s counter logic was that because any action requires a finite agent, time, and physical instrument, the fruits generated by action are inherently limited by time. True liberation, being eternal and infinite, can therefore only be realized through Jnana or  knowledge of the Self (Brahman).

This debate went on for 2 weeks. Mandana Mishra’s flower garland started withering first so he accepted defeat. However Ubhaya Bharati being the erudite scholar yet the wife of Mandana could not accept his defeat. She argued that as per Vedic philosophy husband & wife are a single entity so even if the husband lost it was only half a win. She challenged Adi Shankaracharya to complete the debate with her. She showcased her brilliance by questioning him about his Jnan on Kamasutra. This was a brilliant check mate knowing that Adi Shankara was a celibate monk since childhood! 

However Adi Shankaracharya being the curious yet evolved ascetic had to accept his inexperience. Yet he displayed his ascetic powers by pursuing knowledge by doing पर काया प्रवेश ! 

He sat down in meditation and his soul entered the body of a just dead king. He lived his life of a गृहस्थ and gained experience for a month about Kamashastra. That was complete knowledge for a soul. He returned upgraded to his own body which was preserved in meditation. Then went on to continue the debate and finally won it against Ubhaya Bharati !

I had read this story as a young school girl in Amar Chitra Katha. I was quite fascinated by its magical quality of पर काया प्रवेश. I developed a huge respect for Adi Shankaracharya since then. I read a few books on Advait philosophy and bought Vivek Choodamani which I never managed to go beyond a few pages. 

However it made a lasting impression on me that Kamasutra is also shastra and is to be respected. Later I read it. In the teen years explored it through other mediums that reduces it to filth.  All this while being brainwashed into believing that to have needs is wrongful! To fall in love is ok but cannot want to fulfil that need. These are the things our parents considered moral. So many of us grew up with that guilt and right into adulthood !!!

Fulfilment is not a blessing everyone receives. 

So is Moksha possible?