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Journalism of Courage
Vaak Ambhrini or Vaak Devi is possibly the oldest feminine deity we know about. Some say she first took shape as 8216;Aapa Stambha8217;, the Column of Water, from the breath of Prajapati, the All-Father 8216;Aapastambha8217; is also the name of a sutra. There is a resplendent hymn in the Rig Veda in which Vaak boasts of her powers: Aham rudrebhir vasubhis charaamiI roam where I please with the Rudras and Vasus and asserts, 8216;8216;Aham Rudraya dhanura tanomi/Brahmadvishe sharaane hantavavu.8217;8217; 8216;8216;It is I who bends the bow of Rudra to slay the Creator8217;s enemies.8217;8217; Her voice pours honey in our ears even thousands of years later, when she says, 8216;8216;Whom I love, I make a priest, a sage, a person of good mind8217;8217; 8212; 8216;8216;Tvam brahmaam, tvam hrushim, tvam sumedha.8217;8217; The ascending order is clear. From being a mere ritualist to a seer to a realised 8216;jnani8217;.
This daughter of Prajapati who freely roams the meadows, uplands and rivers, is caught one day and made into his wife. Prajapati, aka Brahma, shrouds the wild, clever Vaak in purest white and seats her on a white lotus. A heavy lute is thrust into her unwilling arms. A hamsa wild goose is appointed her 8216;vahan8217;, and set to spy on her every breath like the driver of today, who is sahib8217;s man, and set to 8216;chaperone8217; the memsahib and report on her outings. Brahma chooses a watery, weak, sweet name for Vaak: Sarasvati, the Gently Flowing. Gone is the free, untramelled being who laughs confidently aloud, knows all the stories and the Names of names, and dances on the poppy-swathed steppe. She is changed now into a bovinely pretty, submissive, dulcet-voiced creature, dressed in silk, with a crown on her head and thick jewelled anklets on her stilled feet.
