The Vedic tradition remembers a remarkable number of women who were not merely devotees but ṛṣikās (female seers) who either composed or were associated with hymns of the Rigveda. Their presence demonstrates that women participated in the highest realms of Vedic spiritual life.
Here are some of the best-known Vedic women seers:
Lopamudra – Wife of Agastya. She is credited with a famous hymn (Rigveda 1.179) that is both philosophical and deeply human, discussing the harmony between worldly life and spiritual pursuit.
Ghosha – She composed two hymns (Rigveda 10.39–40) praising the Ashvins. Tradition says she suffered from a skin disease, prayed for healing, and later attained health and marriage.
Apala – Daughter of Atri. Her hymn (Rigveda 8.91) is a moving prayer to Indra for healing and inner transformation.
Vishvavara – One of the earliest female composers, author of Rigveda 5.28, praising Agni.
Vak Ambhrini – Composer of the celebrated Devi Sukta (Rigveda 10.125). In this profound hymn she speaks as the Universal Divine Mother:
"I move among the gods... I uphold heaven and earth."
This is one of the most exalted declarations of the Divine Feminine in world literature.
Romasha – Traditionally credited with a Rigvedic hymn and remembered as a woman of deep spiritual realization.
Shraddha Kamayani – Associated with the beautiful Shraddha Sukta (Rigveda 10.151), extolling faith (śraddhā) as the foundation of all spiritual endeavor.
Indrani – A hymn attributed to her appears in Rigveda 10.86, expressing confidence and dignity.
Yami – Appears in the philosophical dialogue hymn (Rigveda 10.10) with her brother Yama, exploring ethics, desire, and cosmic order.
Urvashi – Participates in the famous dialogue hymn with Pururavas (Rigveda 10.95), reflecting on love, impermanence, and destiny.
Women philosophers of the Upanishadic period
Although they are not composers of Vedic hymns, two women stand out as brilliant philosophers:
Gargi Vachaknavi challenged the sage Yajnavalkya in the royal court with profound questions about the nature of Brahman.
Maitreyi, also associated with Yajnavalkya, asked whether wealth could grant immortality, leading to one of the deepest discussions on the Self in the Upanishads.
Their significance
These women were honored as mantra-draṣṭās—those who saw the mantras rather than merely authored them. In the Vedic understanding, the hymns are eternal truths "seen" through spiritual realization. Their contributions show that the pursuit of Vedic wisdom and realization was open to women as well as men.
The Vāk Ambhṛṇī Sūkta (also called the Devi Sūkta) is found in the Rigveda. It consists of eight mantras and is one of the most profound hymns in the Vedas.
The hymn opens with its famous first mantra:
अहं रुद्रेभिर्वसुभिश्चराम्यहमादित्यैरुत विश्वदेवैः ।
अहं मित्रावरुणोभा बिभर्म्यहमिन्द्राग्नी अहमश्विनोभा ॥
Ahaṃ rudrebhir vasubhiś carāmy aham ādityair uta viśvadevaiḥ |
Ahaṃ mitrāvaruṇobhā bibharmy aham indrāgnī aham aśvinobhā ||
This first verse declares:
"I move with the Rudras and the Vasus; I move with the Ādityas and all the gods. I sustain Mitra and Varuṇa, Indra and Agni, and the two Aśvins."
The repeated "Aham" ("I am") throughout the hymn is the voice of Vāk, Divine Speech, revealing herself as the all-pervading Consciousness and Power behind the universe. It is one of the earliest and most beautiful declarations of the Divine Mother in the Vedic tradition.
It consists of eight mantras revealed by the ṛṣikā Vak Ambhrini.
मन्त्र १
अहं रुद्रेभिर्वसुभिश्चराम्यहमादित्यैरुत विश्वदेवैः। अहं मित्रावरुणोभा बिभर्म्यहमिन्द्राग्नी अहमश्विनोभा॥
मन्त्र २
अहं सोममाहनसं बिभर्म्यहं त्वष्टारमुत पूषणं भगम्। अहं दधामि द्रविणं हविष्मते सुप्राव्ये यजमानाय सुन्वते॥
मन्त्र ३
अहं राष्ट्री संगमनी वसूनां चिकितुषी प्रथमायज्ञियानाम्। तां मा देवा व्यदधुः पुरुत्रा भूरिस्थात्रां भूर्यावेशयन्तीम्॥
मन्त्र ४
मया सोऽन्नमत्ति यो विपश्यति यः प्राणिति य ईं शृणोत्युक्तम्। अमन्तवो मां त उप क्षियन्ति श्रुधि श्रुत श्रद्धिवं ते वदामि॥
मन्त्र ५
अहमेव स्वयमिदं वदामि जुष्टं देवेभिरुत मानुषेभिः। यं कामये तं तमुग्रं कृणोमि तं ब्रह्माणं तं ऋषिं तं सुमेधाम्॥
मन्त्र ६
अहं रुद्राय धनुरातनोमि ब्रह्मद्विषे शरवे हन्तवा उ। अहं जनाय समदं कृणोम्यहं द्यावापृथिवी आविवेश॥
मन्त्र ७
अहं सुवे पितरमस्य मूर्धन्मम योनिरप्स्वन्तः समुद्रे। ततो वि तिष्ठे भुवनानु विश्वोतामूं द्यां वर्ष्मणोप स्पृशामि॥
मन्त्र ८
अहमेव वात इव प्रवाम्यारभमाणा भुवनानि विश्वा। परो दिवा पर एना पृथिव्यैतावती महिना सम्बभूव॥
A brief summary of the eight mantras
1: The Divine Mother declares that she pervades and sustains all the gods.
2: She is the giver of prosperity, nourishment, and the fruits of sacrifice.
3: She is the sovereign power (Rāṣṭrī), the intelligence behind the universe.
4: Through her alone beings eat, breathe, see, hear, and live.
5: She bestows wisdom, spiritual power, and greatness upon those she chooses.
6: She protects righteousness and destroys forces opposed to sacred knowledge.
7: She is the source of creation, present in the cosmic waters and extending throughout the universe.
8: Like the wind, she permeates all worlds and transcends heaven and earth through her infinite glory.
This hymn is among the loftiest declarations in the Vedas because the speaker is no ordinary individual. The repeated "Aham" ("I am") is the voice of the all-pervading Divine Consciousness speaking through the seer Vāk Ambhṛṇī. Later traditions revered this hymn as one of the foundational revelations of the Divine Mother.
