[Advaita-l] Rig Veda 1.164.41

[Vidyasankar Sundaresan]

> Dear Sirs,
> 
> Rig Veda 1.164.41
> 
> 
> "The cow, having bellowed, produces waters, becoming 1 footed, 2 footed, 4
> footed, 8 footed, 9 footed, is of 1000 syllables in the highest heaven"
> 

This verse is gaurI mimAya salilAni takshatI ... sahasrAksharA parame vyoman.
 
> but Agniveer(arya samaj) has translated it as below
> 
> 
> 
> One ved, two ved, or four ved along with ayurved, dhanurved, gandharved,
> aarthved etc in addition with education, kalp, grammar, nirukt, astrology,
> meters i.e the six vedaang should be attained by the clear-minded woman,
> which is equivalent to the crystal-clear water and spread this diversified
> knowledge among the people.
> (Book: Vagambhraniya, Author: Dr Priyamvada Vedbharti)
> 

Unfortunately, this is a very bad translation and interpretation. Arya Samajists
may have genuinely wished to "improve" the lot of Indian women, but this kind
of translation is ineffective. It would have been far more effective to emphasize
that we have a very strong Goddess worship tradition. Knowledge, wealth, valor,
patience, intelligence, the entire earth - all things held dear by human beings -
are all womanly and are forms of the Goddess. 
 
Regards,
Vidyasankar