Yajnavalkya Ashram ( Sanskrit : याज्ञवल्क्य आश्रम ) was a gurukul of the Indian philosopher

Yajnavalkya Yajnavalkya or Yagyavalkya ( sa, याज्ञवल्क्य, ) is a Hindu Vedic sage figuring in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (c. 700 BCE)., Quote: "Yajnavalkya, a Vedic sage, taught..."Ben-Ami Scharfstein (1998), ''A comparative histor ...

. It is believed that Yajnavalkya got his enlightenment here. It is the place where he wrote many texts of Ancient Indian philosophy. He wrote Shatapatha Brahman, Yajnavalkya Smriti,

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad The ''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'' ( sa, बृहदारण्यक उपनिषद्, ) is one of the Principal Upanishads and one of the first Upanishadic scriptures of Hinduism. A key scripture to various schools of Hinduism, the ''Bri ...

Yoga Yajnavalkya The ''Yoga Yajnavalkya'' ( sa, योगयाज्ञवल्क्य, ''Yoga-Yājñavalkya'') is a classical Hindu yoga text in the Sanskrit language. The text is written in the form of a male-female dialogue between the sage Yajnavalkya and ...

and many more. Yajnavalkya Ashram is situated at Jagban village of

Madhubani district Madhubani district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar, India, and is a part of Darbhanga division. Its administrative headquarters are located in Madhubani. The district has an area of and has a population of 4,487,379 (as of 2011 ...

in Mithila region of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

Description

It believed that the apabhramsha of Yajnavalkya is also Jago Rishi ( जागो ऋषि ). Jagban is the association of two words Jag ( जग ) and Van ( वन ) . Yajnavalkya performed his tough penance to the Lord Sun ( Surya Narayan ) for the enlightenment of his forgotten knowledge of

Yajurveda The ''Yajurveda'' ( sa, यजुर्वेद, ', from ' meaning "worship", and ''veda'' meaning "knowledge") is the Veda primarily of prose mantras for worship rituals.Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in ''The Blackwell C ...

for many days here. The Lord Sun became pleased with the tough penance of Yajnavalkya. He appeared to him in the form of enormous light energy and enlightened Yajnavalkya with the lost knowledge of Yajurveda by the help of the Goddess Sarswati. It is believed that the Goddess Sarswati entered in the body of Yajnavalkya in the form of energy to enlighten him with the knowledge of

. After that, Yajnavalkya wrote

Shukla Yajurveda The ''Yajurveda'' ( sa, यजुर्वेद, ', from ' meaning "worship", and ''veda'' meaning "knowledge") is the Veda primarily of prose mantras for worship rituals.Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in ''The Blackwell C ...

and taught it to his disciples. In the ancient Mithila, the pupils of

came here to study with him.

Janaka Janaka is a character who appears in the Hindu epic Ramayana. He is an ancient Hindu king of Videha, which was located in the Mithila region. His name at birth was Sīradhvaja, and he had a brother named Kushadhvaja. His father's name was Hrasva ...

, the king of Mithila, came here to study Brahma Vidya with Yajnavalkya. Brahma Vidya is the study of

Atman Atman or Ātman may refer to: Film * ''Ātman'' (1975 film), a Japanese experimental short film directed by Toshio Matsumoto * ''Atman'' (1997 film), a documentary film directed by Pirjo Honkasalo People * Pavel Atman (born 1987), Russian hand ...

( self or soul ) and God (

Brahman In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' ( sa, ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part X ...

). Yajnavalkya Ashram was always open to the poor and needy for help and succour. Once there was a famine in the Himalayan valley and

gave 200 ounces of gold to his disciple Brahmadutta to buy grains and other necessities and to take physicians with him to the affected area and render help. It was the important centre for study ancient

Indian Philosophy Indian philosophy refers to philosophical traditions of the Indian subcontinent. A traditional Hindu classification divides āstika and nāstika schools of philosophy, depending on one of three alternate criteria: whether it believes the Veda ...

at the Ancient Mithila University.

became the head of the philosophical Vidya Parishad of the Ancient Mithila University. It is an important place for tourism of

Hindu pilgrims Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

but it is neglected by the local government. This place is associated with the places in

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

An Ancient Giant Banyan Tree

In this Ashram there is an very ancient giant Banyan ( Bargad ) tree spread in two

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

s of land. It is believed that this ancient wonderful tree has relation with the Vedic sage

. According to the local peoples of the village, there are many interesting stories related to the tree. It has been included as ''Saving the Guardian of Mithila'' .

References

{{Reflist Mithila Indian philosophy Ashramas Ancient Indian philosophy Tourist attractions in Bihar Hindu educational institutions Ancient Mithila University