Jabala, Satyakama, Maharshi Gautama: Essence of Hindu Dharma

In the fourth chapter of the Chandogya Upanishad, one finds the narrative of Jabala, Satyakama, and Maharshi Gautama, the son of Haridrumata. Jabala represents that Bharat where woman in every form is Narayani; Satyakama stands as that sentinel of truth who proclaims that only the steadfast individual who never deviates from the path of truth possesses the adhikara (spiritual eligibility) to attain brahma-vidya (knowledge of the Supreme Reality); and Maharshi Gautama exemplifies that facet of Hindu dharma (righteous order and duty) which embodies unreserved acceptance and inclusivity, upholding that birth, gotra (patrilineal lineage), kula (clan), or jati (caste) does not determine whether one is a Brahmana or qualified for brahma-vidya.

If one wishes to understand Bharat and Hindu dharma, one need only undertake a parayana (thorough, reverent study) of these three figures, and much will become clear. Jabala is the representative of womankind and the marginalized. By some stroke of destiny or misfortune, she was compelled to work as a maidservant to numerous men, and as a consequence, bore a son. When the boy grew old enough to pursue education, he approached his mother one day and said, "Mother, I wish to go to a gurukula (traditional residential academy) to receive an education." Delighted, Jabala granted her son permission, but a question from him plunged her into a dilemma. Being aware of the custom of the gurukulas of that era, the boy asked his mother, "The Maharshi will ask me, 'What is your name and what is your gotra?' What answer shall I give him then?" The mother was caught in distress, for a son's gotra is that of his father, yet she had no knowledge of who his father was. What answer could she now give him? If she lied, how could an education founded upon falsehood impart samskara (sacred refinement) to her child? Therefore, fearless and resolute, Jabala told her son: "Child! Being destitute in my youth, I had to serve many masters of households; to secure my livelihood, I had to yield my body to them as well. Whose son you are among them, I do not know. How, then, can I determine your gotra? Indeed, my name is Jabala, and you in your life are Satyakama (one whose sole concern is the truth); therefore, when they ask your name, tell them your name is Satyakama Jabala. My child! I have faith that the truth of your life and the dispelling of inner impurity alone will guide you upon the path of realizing Ishvara."

Bowing his head at his mother's feet, the boy went to the ashram of Rishi Gautama. When the Rishi asked him for his gotra, he fearlessly gave the very reply his mother had spoken. The Rishi was astonished, thinking: how many falsehoods people concoct merely to obtain brahma-jnana (knowledge of Brahman), yet this boy possessed such courage that he laid bare the entire truth as it was! Meanwhile, the rest of the ashram stood dumbfounded, assuming that Gautama would now expel the son of an unchaste woman from their midst. But Rishi Gautama said to Satyakama: "Son, by refusing to abandon the truth, you have demonstrated your distinction. I shall instruct you in brahma-vidya. Go, my son! Go fetch samidha (sacred sacrificial firewood) for the yajna (sacred fire ritual); your yajnopavita (sacred thread investiture) samskara shall be performed this very day."

Dr. Ashok Kumar Dabral is an author of Sanskrit plays; drawing upon the lives of Jabala, Satyakama, and Rishi Gautama, he composed a play titled *Pratijnanam*. This entire drama, while illuminating the radiant character of these three figures, delivers several profound messages to Bharat. The central message of this drama is that relationships may be illegitimate, but the offspring born of them is not; that gotra or jati does not determine one's dignity or worth—what determines it is "the soul being entirely immaculate and guileless, and the courage to accept truth in its pristine reality."

Consider the admission made about herself by a woman born in that antiquity, her aspiration that her son become a brahma-jnani (knower of Brahman), Rishi Gautama's resolve to recognize a boy born of an illicit relationship and an unknown father as a Brahmana and educate him into a brahma-jnani, and Satyakama's steadfastness despite having such an origin laid bare, bearing no bitterness toward his mother—bring all these together and imagine how lofty our Bharat, our ancestors, and their ideals truly were. If the Bharat of today, the women of today, and today’s self-appointed custodians of dharma evaluate themselves against this standard, the reason for Bharat's decline will become crystal clear.

– Shri Abhijeet Singh, The author is a profound scholar of Indian culture, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity, a jyotirvid (astrologer), and a nationalist writer. 

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