Vada in Theory and Practice: Studies in Debates, Dialogues and Discussions in Indian Intellectual Discourses c6.s1.19

c6.s1.19

The *ṛṣis* who participated in the debate with Yājñavalkya were intellectuals, seers and thinkers of their own standing. Many of them, though they lost and suffered a defeat because of the quick wit and brilliance of their adversary, had otherwise influenced the milieu by their ideas through *vāda* (debates and discussions). Amongst them Śvetaketu was an eminent ideologist and thinker. The earliest reference to Śvetaketu occurs in *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa*.²⁵ He was a descendant of Gautama and grandson of Āruṇa. His father Uddālaka Āruṇi is a well-known seer and thinker in the Upaniṣads and is also referred in *Mahābhārata*. Even great sages like Yājñavalkya, Vājasaneya and Kauṣītaki are said to be his disciples.