Female Rishis and Philosophers in the Veda?

Abstract

It is a traditional but common misconception that a considerable number of Ṛgvedic hymns were composed by women. Though female authors and interlocutors are not entirely absent from the Vedas the role of 'literate' women in the Ṛgveda will have to be re-evaluated. The traditional names given for female Ṛgvedic authors include those derived from the wordings of the hymns but also personified Belief, Speech and a bitch.