Vāc

2024-12-07T18:17:21Z

2A02:C7C:8E80:2E00:26CC:CBFD:1AE2:5C66:

{{redirect|Vāk|other uses|Vak (disambiguation)}}
{{short description|Vedic goddess associated with Saraswati}}
'''Vac''' ({{langx|sa|वाच्}}, ''{{IAST|vāc}}'') is a [[Vedas|Vedic]] [[goddess]] who is a personified form of divine speech. She enters into the inspired poets and visionaries, gives expression and energy to those she loves; she is called the "mother of the Vedas" and consort of [[Prajapati]], the Vedic embodiment of mind.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Holdrege|first=Barbara A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YlvikndgEmIC&q=Vac+Prajapati&pg=PA48|title=Veda and Torah: Transcending the Textuality of Scripture|date=2012-02-01|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-1-4384-0695-4|language=en}}</ref> She is also associated with [[Indra]] in Aitareya Aranyaka.<ref name=vacref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=1HMXN9h6WX0C&pg=RA1-PA260 ''The Myths and Gods of India''], Alain Daniélou, pages 260-261</ref> Elsewhere, such as in the [[Padma Purana]], she is stated to be the wife of Vision (''Kashyapa''), the mother of Emotions, and the friend of Musicians (''Gandharva'').<ref name=vacref/>

She is identified with goddess [[Saraswati]] in later Vedic literature and post-Vedic texts of Hindu traditions. Saraswati has remained a significant and revered deity in [[Hinduism]].<ref>{{cite book|author=David Kinsley|title=Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hgTOZEyrVtIC&pg=PA222 |year=1987|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0394-7|pages=55, 222}}</ref> Because of this, Goddess Saraswati is also known as Goddess Vaceshwari.

[[Thomas McEvilley]] gives goddess Vac and the area of her divine purview treatment in 'Appendix E: Philosophy and Grammar' to his ''magnum opus'' ''[[The Shape of Ancient Thought]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thomas C. McEvilley |url=http://archive.org/details/thomas-c.-mcevilley-the-shape-of-ancient-thought-comparative-studies-in-greek-an |title=Thomas C. Mcevilley The Shape Of Ancient Thought Comparative Studies In Greek And Indian Philosophies ( 2001, Allworth Press) Libgen.lc |date=2001}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Hindu deities]]
*[[Rigvedic deities]]
*[[Śabda]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*''Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend'' ({{ISBN|0500510881}}) by Anna Dhallapiccola
*''Hindu Goddesses: Vision of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Traditions'' ({{ISBN|8120803795}}) by David Kinsley
*Nicholas Kazanas, ''Vedic Vāc and Greek logos as creative power: a critical study'' (2009)

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vac}}
{{Rigveda}}
[[Category:Rigvedic deities]]
[[Category:Hindu goddesses]]
[[Category:Language and mysticism]]

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