Vāc

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This article is about the Sanskrit word. For other meanings see VAC.

Vāk or Vāc (stem vāc-, nominative vāk) is the Sanskrit word for "speech", "voice", "talk", or "language".

Personified, Vāk is a goddess, most frequently she is identified with Bharati or Sarasvati, the goddess of speech. In the Veda she is also represented as created by Prajapati and married to him; in other places she is called the mother of the Vedas and wife of Indra. Most frequently she is identified with Bharati or Sarasvati, the goddess of speech.

In RV 10.125, Vāk speaks in the first person,

I, verily, myself announce and utter the word that Gods and men alike shall welcome.
I make the man I love exceeding mighty, make him a sage, a Rsi, and a Brahman. (verse 5, trans. Griffith)

[edit] See also

[edit] Reference

  • Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend (ISBN 0500510881) by Anna Dhallapiccola

[edit] Further reading

  • Hindu Goddesses: Vision of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Traditions (ISBN 8120803795) by David Kinsley


Hinduism | Hindu mythology | Itihasa
Female Deities: Gayatri | Saraswati | Lakshmi | Dakshayani | Parvati | Durga | Shakti | Kali | Sita | Devi | Radha | Mahavidya | more...
Male Deities: Brahma | Vishnu | Shiva | Rama | Krishna | Ganesha | Kartikeya | Hanuman | Lakshmana | Indra | Surya | more...
Texts: Vedas | Upanishads | Puranas | Ramayana | Mahabharata
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