Essence of Hindu Dharma: Jabala, Satyakama & Maharshi Gautam

In the fourth chapter of the Chandogya Upanishad, one finds the narrative of Jabala, Satyakama, and Maharshi Gautama, son of Haridrumata. Jabala represents that Bharat where woman in every form is Narayani (the divine feminine); Satyakama stands as that sentinel of truth who proclaims that only the steadfast seeker who never strays from the path of truth is an *adhikari* (qualified aspirant) entitled to attain *brahmavidya* (knowledge of Brahman); and Maharshi Gautama exemplifies that dimension of Hindu dharma where there is only and exclusively acceptance and inclusion, which upholds that birth, *gotra* (patrilineal lineage), *kula* (clan), or *jati* (caste) do not determine whether one is a Brahmana or entitled to receive brahmavidya.

If one wishes to understand Bharat and Hindu dharma, undertake a *parayana* (study/recitation) of these three figures, and much will become clear. Jabala represents womankind and the marginalized; by fate or misfortune, she had to work as a domestic servant for many men, and as a result, a son was born to her. When the son reached the age for learning, he came to his mother one day and said, "Mother, I wish to go to a gurukul to receive an education." Jabala gladly gave her son permission, but a question from him threw her into a dilemma. Aware of the gurukul customs of the time, the son asked his mother, "The Maharshi will ask me, 'What is your name and gotra?' What answer shall I give him then?" The mother fell into distress, for a son’s gotra is that of his father, but she had no knowledge of his father. What answer could she give him now? If she lied, how could an education founded upon falsehood impart true *samskara* (spiritual refinement) to her child? Therefore, the fearless and resolute Jabala told her son, "Child! Being destitute in my youth, I had to serve many household masters; to sustain my livelihood, I had to surrender my body to them as well. I do not know whose son among them you are. How then can I determine your gotra? Yet, my name is Jabala, and you in your life are Satyakama (one whose sole pursuit is truth); therefore, when they ask your name, state your name as Satyakama Jabala. My child! The truth of your life and the dispelling of your self-impurities will guide you on the path to realizing God—of this I am certain."

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 answer his mother had instructed him to give. The Rishi was struck with wonder. He reflected: people fabricate countless lies merely to attain *brahmajnana* (knowledge of Brahman), yet this boy is so courageous that he disclosed the entire truth as it was. Meanwhile, the entire ashram stood stunned, assuming that Gautama would now expel the son of this fallen woman. But Rishi Gautama said to Satyakama, "Son, by not abandoning the truth you have demonstrated your distinction. I shall instruct you in brahmavidya. Go, my child! Bring *samidha* (sacred firewood) for the *yajna* (sacred fire ritual); this very day your *yajnopavita* (sacred thread initiation) sanskara shall be performed."

Dr. Ashok Kumar Dabral is an author of Sanskrit plays. Centered on the lives of Jabala, Satyakama, and Rishi Gautama, he composed a play titled *Pratijnanam*. Illuminating the radiant character of these three figures, the entire play delivers profound messages to Bharat. The message of this play is that illicit relationships exist, but the child born from those relationships does not; gotra or jati does not determine one’s honor or worthiness—what determines it is "the soul being entirely stainless and guileless, and having the courage to accept truth in its pristine reality."

Consider such an admission made about herself by a woman of that era, her aspiration that her son become a knower of Brahman, Rishi Gautama’s decision to recognize a boy born of an illicit liaison and an unknown father as a Brahmana and educate him in brahmavidya, and Satyakama’s steadfastness despite having his identity so laid bare, without harboring the slightest resentment toward his mother—bring all these together and imagine how exalted our Bharat, our ancestors, and their ideals were. Let today’s Bharat, today’s women, and today's self-appointed contractors of dharma evaluate themselves against this benchmark, and the cause of Bharat’s decline will become self-evident.

– 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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