The Importance of Women in the Upanishads

The story of Sula Bha and the depictions of such figures as Gaghi in the Upanishads is an affront to those same traditional ideas. It was often believed that women could not attain liberation, either because of their fundamental inferiority or because it was impossible for them to undertake rigorous ascetic practices. The strong female philosophers of the Great Forest of Punishad are both associated with the even stronger male philosopher, Yajnadakya.