Women in the Rig Veda
Joysree Das,
Former Associate Professor,
Shree Agrasen College,
Dalkhola, Uttar Dinajpur, West
Bengal, India.
Abstract: This paper explores the multifaceted presence
of women in the Rig Veda, the
earliest extant Sanskrit text from ancient India, composed around 1500 BCE.
While acknowledging the Rig Veda
as a predominantly male-authored and male-dominated text, it highlights three
distinct categories through which women's presence is registered: women as deities, women as dramatis personae in conversational hymns, and women as composers of hymns (Rishikas).
The abstract identifies prominent Vedic goddesses such as Aditi, Vac, Dawn, and
Night, alongside immortal, non-goddess figures like Yami and Urvasi. It further
discusses the genre of conversational hymns, citing examples like the dialogue
between Agastya and Lopamudra, and the unique instance of Apala and Indra.
Special emphasis is placed on the Rishikas—female
seers who composed Rig Vedic hymns, including Vishwavara, Ghosa, Shaswati, and
particularly Vak Ambhrini. The
abstract concludes by analyzing Vak Ambhrini's powerful hymn, which embodies a
proto-feminist voice by identifying the Rishika with the goddess of Speech,
portraying her as a supreme, all-encompassing force that permeates and sustains
the universe, thus celebrating an unparalleled depiction of feminine power in
early world literature.
Keywords: Rig Veda, Vedic women,
Female deities, Rishikas (female seers), Vak Ambhrini, Feminist voice, Ancient
Indian texts, Sanskrit, Oral tradition, Conversation hymns
Indian texts began with the Rig Veda, composed in northwest India around 1500 BCE. The first of the four Vedas, it is the earliest extant text composed in Sanskrit, the language of ancient India. The geography of the Rig Veda is limited to the northerly Indus Plain, the sapta Sindhu area. The Rig Veda consists of 1028 poems, often called mantras (incantations), grouped into ten circles (mandalas). The Rig Veda was preserved orally, usually passed down from father to son, those who taught and learned the Rig Veda were male Brahmins. In the words of Wendy Doniger, Rig Veda is “a text dominated by men in a world dominated by men”. In this male dominated world, the presence of women is registered in three distinct ways – women as deities, women as dramatis personae in conversational hymns and women as composers of some poems of the Rig Veda.
Among the Vedic goddess are Aditi, Vac or speech, Dawn, Night, the Waters and the Forest. Nirrti, a goddess who brings destruction or chaos is also evoked in the Rig Veda. Many women, who are not really goddesses but are immortal, are also present in the Rig Veda. Some such women are Yami, Urvasi, Surya, the daughter of Sun, Indrani the wife of Indra and Saranyu, the wife of Sun.
The conversation hymns structured in
the form of a conversation between a man and a woman are a genre that is found
throughout the Rig Veda. Hymn number 179 of the first book or Mandala of the
Rig Veda is a conversation between Agastya
and Lopamudra. The 91st
hymn of the 8th book of Rig Veda is a conversation between Apala and Indra, it is Apala who
speaks while Indra is silent though
his presence is felt. Hymn number 102 of the 10th book of Rig Veda
though not a conversation, speaks of the courage and ability of a woman, Mudgala’s wife, who drove the chariot
for her husband, though the animal yoked to it was a single old bull.
Prominent among the women composers of
the Rig Veda, who were known as Rishikas
or female seers are Vishwavara, (28th
hymn, 5th Book), Ghosa,
the composer of two hymns, (39, 40) of the 10th book, Shaswati (179th verse or Sukta of the 1st Book) and Vak Ambhrini (hymn 125 of the 10th
Book).Vishwavara’s verse is dedicated
to Agni, in which she asserts herself, “
etipraciviswavaranamobhirdevamitanahavisaghrtaci.” The two Suktas, or verses of Ghosa
are dedicated to the deities Ashnins,
the god of Bliss, who render the human body free of disease and make it fit to
accept Prana, the life energy. Ghosa has a vision of the twin gods
“glorious at dawn”, riding their brilliant chariot, visiting house after house,
where they are invited. Shaswati
celebrates the restoration of the virility of her husand Asanga, which he had lost due to excessive asceticism.
The most powerful hymn however of a Rishika, is the hymn of Vak Ambhrini. It is the utterance of a
woman invoking a female deity – Vak
or Speech. The Rishika identifies
herself with the goddess and speaks in her voice – both becoming one and the
same. It is a powerful vision, expressed loudly and clearly in a powerful
voice. Vak, the daughter of Rishi Ambhrina visualises the goddess as a
mover and shaker, dominating the major male gods of the Rig Veda. To conclude
with the verse of Vak – Ambhrini, which records the first
feminist voice and stance of world literature:
I accompany the Rudras, the Vasus, the
Adityas and Vishwadevas, I support both Mitra and Varuna, Indra and Agni and
the twin Ashvins.
I nourish the Soma plant, whose juice
is offered to the gods. I energize the divine craftsman Tvastar, Bhaga and
Pushan. I provide boon and benediction to the offerer of sacrifices to the
gods.
I am the Queen, owner of riches and
treasures, wise and the first among the gods who is worshipped and offered
sacrifices. The gods have given me places to reside in many directions and many
homes, where I am revered and respected.
I am the life energy in living beings
that make them eat, see, breathe, speak and hear. Without knowing, they remain
supported by my power. Listen with utmost concentration to what I speak for
I am revealing the truth.
I bring good tidings and whom I choose
becomes strong, learned, wise and well versed in the Vedas, by my blessing.
I bend the bow for Rudra, when his
arrows fly to kill the haters of the Vedas. I generate war and rouse people to
fight. I exist in both Heaven and Earth.
I am the Mother who gave birth to the
sky, as unseen powerful energy. I am present in the waters, in vast oceans, in
living beings and all objects of the universe. When I stand, my stature touches
the utmost point of the sky.
My breath is the wind and the tempest
which enters and engulfs the world and the universe and moves all living
objects. I hold together the entire universe; I am so mighty and powerful.
This verse is the celebration of feminine power, pure and
sacred, not found elsewhere in the world literature.
Works Cited
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