Janaka's Assembly

King Janaka of Videha held a great sacrifice, and he gave gifts with an open hand. The brahmins of the Kurus and the Pañcālas gathered there, and the king wanted to know which of them was the most learned. He had a thousand cows shut in a pen, with ten pieces of gold tied to the horns of each, and said, Revered brahmins, let the one among you who knows Brahman best drive these cows home.

No one dared, until Yājñavalkya told his pupil to drive the cows away. Then the brahmins rose against him one by one. Aśvala, the king's priest, questioned him on the sacrifice and fell silent. Ārtabhāga questioned him on the senses and on death, and fell silent. Bhujyu questioned him, and Uṣasta, and Kahola, and each of them fell silent in turn.

Among those learned men sat a woman, Gārgī. Her name tells her family: Gārgī, of the line of Garga, and Vācaknavī, of the house of Vacaknu. When Kahola had fallen silent, she was the next to speak.