Vāc

Template:Redirect Template:Short description Vac (Template:Langx, Template:IAST) is a 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>Template:Cite book</ref> She is also associated with Indra in Aitareya Aranyaka.<ref name=vacref>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>Template:Cite book</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>Template:Cite book</ref>

See also

• Hindu deities
• Rigvedic deities
• Śabda

Further reading

• Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend (Template:ISBN) by Anna Dhallapiccola
• Hindu Goddesses: Vision of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Traditions (Template:ISBN) by David Kinsley
• Nicholas Kazanas, Vedic Vāc and Greek logos as creative power: a critical study (2009)