Female Deities in Vedic and Epic Literature

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

A detailed study of the functions, deifications and inter- relation of the Vedic female deities, on the basis of the original sources alongwith the analysis of the oriental and accidental Indologists is attempted in the present work. Two different but equally important approaches to the study of the Vedas in the modern world have been used. To make it a comparative study, the material related to the Greek and Semantic female deities has also been used.

The present attempt though based mainly on the Vedic Literature as the major source of information goes deeper into the History of Culture and Civilization. The study of the phenomena would be of immense interest of scholars of Sanskrit, History and Religion. An attempt has also been made to study the various aspects of the Vedic female deities.

Individual gods and goddesses have been discussed specifically by B.M. Chakravarti and Dr. Fateh Singh. But groups of gods and goddesses collectively have not been studied so far. I can humbly say that no one has done this kind of study.

I am much indebted to the officers incharge to the Libraries of the University of Delhi, V.V.R.I. Hoshiarpur, Sarasvati Bhawan Sanskrit Library, Varanasi, Banaras Hindu University Library, Lucknow University Library, Raghunath Temple Library Jammu and the Library of my late grandfather Pt. Chandra Dhar Sharma Guleri at Jaipur, who was the Head of the Ancient History, Culture and Head of the Oriental Faculty, Banaras Hindu University, during 1920-22.

The Vedic studies have been a centre of attraction for the oriental and occidental scholars for the last two centuries.

The study of the deities plays an important role in the field of Vedic studies. It is partly connected with religion and partly with mythology.

In the Rgveda mostly the deities represent the natural phenomenon and abstract notions. The Samaveda delineates the concept of the deities as that of the Rgveda in verbatum. The Yajurveda deals with the deities in connection with the sacrifice, giving rise to some new deities and obscuring the Rgvedic deities from their position. It also defies the sacrificial objects. In the Atharvaveda the deities are treated on the line of the Rgvedic and Yajur- vedic deities. Besides, a few diseases, objects and notions have attained the status of the deities. In this way all the four Vedas differently deal with the concept of deities.

These deities may be classified in two principal categories.

(i) The Male Deities.

(ii) The Female Deities.

The scholars of the Vedas meant by the word 'Devata' an imaginary god, a fetish. The Vedic poets themselves conceived of the forces of Nature as gods and extolled them in their poetical writings known as the hymns of the Vedas.