Brahmavadini

Brahmavadini or "an expounder of the Veda" are those women who composed any hymns of the Vedas [1] The prominent among them were Lopamudra, Vishwawara, Sikta, Ghosha and Maitreyi.

Maitreyi, (the wife of Yajnavalkya) is accredited with about ten hymns in Rig Veda[2]

Two suktas (hymns) of the tenth Mandala (book) of Rigveda, 39 and 40, each containing 14 verses, have been attributed to Ghosha.[2] The first hymn praises the Ashvins. The second hymn is a personal wish expressing her intimate feelings and desires for married life.

Lopamudra was the wife of the sage Agastya.[2] A hymn in the Rigveda is attributed to her.

See also

References

  1. The Sanskrit text brahmavadini is the female of brahmavadi. According to Monier-Williams’s Sanskrit-English Dictionary, "brahmavādín" means ‘discoursing on sacred texts, a defender or expounder of the Veda, one who asserts that all things are to be identified with Brahman’. It doesn't means "one who speaks like God".
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Vedic Women: Loving, Learned, Lucky!". Retrieved 2006-12-24.