Today I am going to tell you another story related to Mithila. Once upon a time, “Mithila” was a place where every people were educated, even women could talk in Sanskrit. “Mandan Mishra” was a scholar of that time.
One day Jagadguru Shankaracharya came to his house to challenge him in knowledge. Before coming to his house, on the way, he asked some women who were taking pots full of water, the address of Mandan Mishra and they told Shankaracharya in Sanskrit- ” the place where two parrots make conversation on the topic of Vedas in Sanskrit that place is the house of Mandan Mishra”.
Shankaraya shocked at the answer to that woman. When he reached Mishra’s home, he challenged him and the competition starts. Mandan Mishra had a rose that faded when he was going to be defeated by someone. That flower was fading that day. This was seen by Mishra’s wife.
The name of his wife was “Vidushi Bharati”. She told Shankaracharya, as a wife is called “Ardhangini”(the master of the half part of the body of her husband), she had also the right to take the place of her husband. Then she asked Shankaracharya, questions about the married life or which is called “grihastha”. As he was a bachelor, he didn’t know the answer to those question and thus Shankaracharya accepted his defeat.
You can also buy the beautiful Madhubani Painting on this story from the link below:
