unborn, and the feminine is thus all of the universe. She is presented as all the five elements, as well as all that is different from these elements, what is above, what is below, what is around, and thus the universe in its entirety. This philosophy is also found in the Tripuratapani Upanishad and the Bahvricha Upanishad. The early Upanishads are, however, generally silent about women and men, and focus predominantly on gender-less Brahman and its relation to Atman (Soul, Self). There are occasional exceptions. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, composed about 800 BCE, for example, in the last chapter detailing the education of a student, include lessons for his Grihastha stage of life. There, the student is taught, that as a husband, he should cook rice for the wife, and they together eat the food in certain way depending on whether they wish for the birth of a daughter or a son, as follows, Women are mentioned and are participants in the philosophical debates of the Upanishads, as well as scholars, teachers and priestesses during the Vedic and early Buddhist age. Among women acknowledged in the Upanishads are Gargi and Maitreyi. In Sanskrit, the word acharyā means a "female teacher" (versus acharya meaning "teacher") and an acharyini is a teacher's wife, indicating that some women were known as gurus. Female characters appear in plays and epic poems. The 8th century poet, Bhavabhuti describes in his play, Uttararamacharita (verse 2 - 3), how the character, Atreyi, travelled to southern India where she studied the Vedas and Indian philosophy. In Madhava's Shankaradigvijaya, Shankara debates with the female philosopher, Ubhaya Bharati and in verses 9 - 63 it is mentioned that she was well versed in the Vedas. Tirukkoneri Dasyai, a 15th-century scholar, wrote a commentary on Nammalvar's Tiruvaayamoli, with reference to Vedic texts such as the Taittiriya Yajurveda. The Hindu historical epics In the two Hindu historical epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, the role of women is multiple. The main female character in the Mahabharata, Draupadi is married to all the five Pandavas due to Mata Kunti directive to distribute without seeing what has been brought by Pandavas, thus had five husbands. She is insulted by Duryodhana, one of the main reasons for the great war in restoring the honor of their woman. In the Ramayana, the historical epic on shri Ram's life composed eight lakh years BC in tretayug, Sita is respected, honored, wise