Ghosha

Introduction

Women of the Vedic period were examples of spiritual attainment. They were revealers of Brahman and learners of the Vedas sometimes even composing some of the hymns. They were highly spiritually exalted and their knowledge and wisdom were on par or sometimes even greater than their male counterparts. They embraced simple living and high thinking. Some of them were wives or children of great Rishis.

Birth and Early Living

Ghosha was the daughter of Rishi Kakshivan who was a descendent of Angiras and granddaughter of Dirgatamas. As she suffered from a skin ailment(leprosy) from childhood she was unable to get married. She dutifully served her father but continuously prayed to the Ashvini Kumars the divine physicians who were endowed with the power of rejuvenation. Pleased with her deep and sincere prayers the Ashvini Kumars taught her Madhu Vidya, the Science of secret learning which granted her youth and great knowledge and cured her of her ailment due to which she subsequently got a worthy husband. She composed two Rig Veda hymns 39, 49 of Mandal ten each containing 14 verses. The first eulogises the Asvini Devatas and the second is a personal wish expressing her intimate desires and feelings for married life. Her son Suhastya also composed a hymn in the Rig Veda.

Conclusion

Gosha is revered as one of the woman seers of Vedic India, a Rishika who was highly knowledgeable and proficient in the Vedas and even composed a few hymns. She was a Brahmavadini or speaker or revealer of Brahman and lived a highly spiritual life and has been recorded in the annals of ancient Vedic history as one of the famous woman seers along with Gargi, Lopamudra , Maitreyi etc.