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Significance of the Term Putra in Vedic Literature
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the seer of the first ten hymns of the Rig Veda,
is clearly described as vaiśvāmitrasya putra, the
child of Vishvamitra.22 Madhuchanda becomes
Madhuchandas in the Aitareya Brahmana and
is treated by later scholars as a son. Skandaswami,
the pre-Sayana commentator, clearly
described the sage as viśvāmitrasya putra. But
chanda, metre, is a neuter word, and to conceive
of it as a female one has to modify the last syllable
to get the feminine form: chandā—though
Madhu chanda is not conceived of as a female
seer in Saunaka’s list (fifth century bce).23 That
the same expression can be equally used for a
male and female seer is evident in the name Suradhas
(1.100.17), which is another name found in
the Rig Veda and is also the seer of the hymn.
The seers of that hymn are said to be Varsa girah,
children of Vrisagirah. Skandaswami figures out
that Rijrasva, Ambarisa, Saha deva, Bhayamana,
and Suradha are Vrisagirah’s putraḥ,24 and all are
considered sons of Vrisa girah by later commentators
of the Rig Veda. But Suradha is of course
a female seer and can never be a masculine name.
Probably Suradha was the sister and the youngest
of all the other brothers, but all are clubbed
together as Varsagirah. We can note again that
no gender discrimination was made with regard
to the word putra. Indra is said to have procreated
Surya, sun, Usha, dawn, Prithivi, earth, and
Agni, fire (3.31.15) —these are the names of gods
and goddesses put together in the same fashion
as the putraḥ of Vrisagirah. As Sinivali, the
sister of the devas, is offered oblations, so sisters—like
the wives of Rig Vedic society—definitely
performed Vedic rituals. The example of
Suradha proves the point. We have another example
in the seer Gotamo Nodha 25—Nodha
was the child of Gotama, and his gender is still
being questioned.
How a father and a mother help their children
is exemplified by the Ribhus, gods of the
PB July 2011
rains, who help all living organisms by creating
grass in upper lands and water in lower surfaces.26
In the preceding mantra putrebhyāḥ denotes
all living organisms, children of the manes.
The Ashwins, the twin gods, are said to be subhaga
putrāḥ, auspicious offspring (1.181.4). Agni
becomes the putra of one who serves and nourishes
it (2.1.9). As the putrāḥ obey the father, the
sacrificer abides by the dictum of Agni (1.68.5).
The rays of the sun, though basically imagined
to be feminine because they bear water, are also
said to be masculine since they are responsible
for rains, which increase fertility. But Indra becomes
the pati, master, of raśmi, rays, who are
the offspring of Agni (1.69.4). In the ‘Narayana
Suktam’ 27 Agni’s raśmaya, rays, are stated to be
santata, continuously spreading, and this gives
Agni its condition of being omnipresent and
omnipotent, with its light spreading to all parts
of the body. For the luminescent Indra, Agni
issues many mighty children, mahasputrā, in the
form of rays, which are treated as feminine in
the hymn of the Rig Veda.28 The all-knowing
father’s father is eulogised as Aditya, sun, who
receives this epithet because of being the father
of its rays, which in turn are the parents of the
earth (1.164.16). And we know that Aditi is the
supreme goddess behind Aditya. The sun is the
source of all life. In the mother’s womb develop
many a prajā, children, who are nirṛthimā viveśa,
covered with ignorance, (1.164.32). Here putra
and prajā become synonymous.
The inheritance laws for the son and daughter
were almost similar in those days. He who serves
Brahmanaspati, father and mother of the gods, is
awarded with wealth for himself, his relatives, his
own people, race, and children (2.26.3). So, if the
duhitā, daughter, of a father without sons gives
birth to both a son and a daughter, the grandson
performs sacrifices and the granddaughter
is honoured with wealth (3.31.1–2). The duhitā
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