मां हि पार्थ व्यपाश्रित्य येऽपि स्युः पापयोनयः ।
स्त्रियो वैश्यास्तथा शूद्रास्तेऽपि यान्ति परां गतिम् ।। ९.३२ ।।

māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye’pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ |
striyo vaiśyās-tathā śūdrās-te’pi yānti parāṁ gatim || 9.32 ||

Social background – no stigma for devotional pursuit

In the next two verses (9.32, 33) Krishna says that this path of supreme devotional reliance and attunement is open to all kinds and levels of people. His use of the plural number, as against the singular he used earlier (9.31) is very suggestive. He includes all, even those of sinful birth (ye’pi syuh papa-yonayah), so that none need feel left out or condemned.

It is usual to blame the vicious and the wicked for what they think and do. But sober reason will make anyone understand that the cause and source behind virtue and vice alike are the same. For the evil effects of any kind found in the world, the final responsibility and redemption rest with the same source.

Arjuna, even those from the vicious wombs, and also women, vaisyas and sudras attain the Supreme, by taking to the path of fond devotion to the Supreme.

Therefore, the word papa-yonayah need not frighten or prejudice anyone unduly. The world, at any time, consists of good and bad. Taken to the extreme, these will swing from the best to the worst. Each must have its womb. Thus, the wicked are said to have sprung from wicked wombs, and virtuous from virtuous roots. Unlike animals, whose wicked or vicious nature continues unchanged, the human being has the option and facility to change himself if only he or she wants to.

Krishna mentions vaisyas and sudras in this verse. According to tradition and the cultural notes then in vogue, the trading and working groups were not, by nature, given to serious study and contemplation, especially of a religio-spiritual kind and level. Trading profession had to violate truthfulness, as their profession itself is called satya-anrta – a mixture of truth and untruth. Labourers live on their muscle power. They feel they have only their body and limbs to be employed for hard work. To think of refining the mind and intelligence and take to any occupation of that level and kind, they have neither taste nor time. To work hard, feed the belly, and to care for the body will be their only wont. Developing the inner potential is not of much interest to them.

Why has Krishna included women, together with trading and labouring communities? Women, in general, find it difficult to take up intellectual pursuits, for the simple reason that the entire burden of childbirth and motherhood, and looking after the family, takes away all their time and energy. Human society is born and bred in homes, and to look after the home is a full sublime task. It is as important and complex as any other field of administration. This being so, it was natural that the womenfolk found themselves kept away from any serious knowledge pursuit. Over the ages, this became the tradition.

This does not mean that women do not have inner potential; or that they would not like to pursue and display it. Even in the Upanishadic times, we find Gargi, Maitreyi, Sulabha, etc. who feature in debates and discussions with great Knowers of Truth like Yajnavalkya and Janaka. But they were exceptions. By and large, women remained tied to their homestead.

One should not be led to erroneously underrate any group or community. In an era of democracy and democratic thinking, everyone is equal with the same fundamental privileges. Women have taken to higher education and professions of many kinds. If they can give birth to the male brain, they must have a brain equally good. It is a question of recognizing and using it. The recognition and usage will always depend upon the opportunity, standards and styles prevailing every time in the society. Krishna and Vyasadeva just reflected what was in vogue in their time.