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{{Short description|Wife of Vasishtha in Hinduism}}
{{Other uses|Arundhati (disambiguation){{!}}Arundhati}}
{{Infobox Hindu leader
| name = Arundhati
| image = Ramabhadracharya Works - Painting in Arundhati (1994).jpg
| alt = Arundhati
| caption = [[Vasishtha]] and Arundhati performing a [[Yajna]], with [[Kamadhenu]], in their [[Ashram]]. Art from the back cover of the Hindi epic [[Arundhati (epic)|Arundhati]] (1994).
| religion = [[Hinduism]]
| spouse = [[Vasishtha]]
| children = [[Śakti Maharṣi]], Citraketu, Surocis, Virajas, Mitra, Ulbana, Vasubhrdyana and Dyumat
}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2016}}

'''Arundhati''' ({{langx|sa|अरुन्धती|translit=Arundhatī}}) is the wife of the sage [[Vasishtha]], one of the seven sages ([[Saptarshi]]) of [[Hinduism]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2012-06-15 |title=Arundhati, Arundhatī, Arumdhati: 18 definitions |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/arundhati#sanskrit |access-date=2022-11-18 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
The name {{IAST|Arundhatī}} in [[Sanskrit]] literally means 'washed by the rays of sun', from {{IAST|arun}} 'sun rays', and {{IAST|dhatī}} , 'washed'.

==Legend==
Arundhati's birth and life are mentioned in various Hindu scriptures. The birth of Arundhati is found in the [[Shiva Purana]] and [[Bhagavata Purana]]. The instruction by [[Brahma]] to Arundhati is described in the Uttara Kanda of the [[Ramcharitmanas]]. The rivalry between [[Vishvamitra]] and Vasishtha which leads to the death of her hundred sons is described in the [[Balakanda]] of [[Valmiki]]'s [[Ramayana]]. The [[Mahabharata]] and several [[Brahmana]] works describe her sons, including Shakti, and grandson [[Parashara]]. Arundhati's meetings with [[Sita]] and [[Rama]] are mentioned in the Ramayana, Ramcharitmanas and [[Vinaya Patrika]].<ref name="Arundhati-intro">Rambhadracharya 1994, pp. ''iii—vi''.</ref> Her role in pleading [[Shiva]] to marry [[Parvati]] is described in the sixth canto of [[Kumarasambhava]] of [[Kalidasa]].<ref name="ks-kale">Kale, pp. 197-199</ref>

As per the Bhagavata Purana, Arundhati is the eighth among the nine daughters of [[Kardama]] and Devahuti. She is the grandmother of [[Parashara]] and the great-grandmother of [[Veda Vyasa|Vyasa]].<ref name="Arundhati-intro" /> The Shiva Purana describes her as being ''Sandhya'', the mind-born daughter of Brahma, in a previous birth. On instruction of Vasishtha, Sandhya pleased Shiva by penance in order to purify herself from passion, and Shiva asked her to jump into Medhatithi's fire. She was then born as Medhatithi's daughter and married Vasishtha. Some other [[Purana]]s describe her as the daughter of [[Kashyapa]] and sister of [[Narada]] and Parvata, and she was offered in marriage to Vasishtha by Narada.<ref name="garg-Arundhati">Garg 1992, pp. 647-648</ref>

The Mahabharata describes Arundhati as an ascetic who used to give discourses to even the seven sages. The wife of [[Agni]], [[Svaha]], could therefore assume the form of the wives of the other six seers amongst Saptarshi but not that of Arundhati. The epic also narrates how once she pleased Shiva when it did not rain for 12 years and the seven seers were suffering without roots and fruits. Her chastity and service to her husband is mentioned as unparalleled in the Mahabharata.<ref name="garg-Arundhati" />

As per the Valmiki Ramayana, she bore a hundred sons, who were all cursed to die by [[Vishvamitra]]. She then bore a son named [[Śakti Maharṣi|Shakti]] and later another one named Suyagya, who studied with Rama at Vasishtha's hermitage.<ref name="Arundhati-intro" /> Some sources say she had eight sons including Shakti and Chitraketu.<ref name="garg-Arundhati" />

The life of Arundhati is described in the eponymous Hindi [[epic poetry|epic poem]] [[Arundhati (epic)|''Arundhati'']] composed by [[Rambhadracharya|Jagadguru Rambhadracharya]] in 1994.

==Traditions==
[[File:Dipper.jpg|x216px|right|thumb|In traditional Indian astronomy, pair of [[Mizar and Alcor]] in constellation [[Ursa Major]] is known as Vasishtha and Arundhati]]
Arundhati is identified with the [[Venus|morning star]] and with the star [[Alcor (star)|Alcor]], which forms a double star with [[Mizar (star)|Mizar]] (identified as Vasishtha Maharshi) in Ursa Major. Arundhati, though the wife of one of the seven seers, is accorded the same status as the seven seers and is worshipped with them as such.<ref name="apte-ref1" /> In Vedic and Puranic literature, she is regarded as the epitome of chastity, conjugal bliss and wifely devotion.<ref name="apte-ref1" /><ref name="garg-Arundhati" /> In post-Puranic epic poems in Sanskrit and Hindi, she has been described as "chaste and revered" and with a character that is "unblemished, inspiring and worthy of imitation".<ref name="Arundhati-intro" /><ref name="ks-kale" /> In the [[Hindu culture]], there are several beliefs, practices and traditions centred on Arundhati including a ritual in the marriage ceremony after the [[Saptapadi]], a fast, a belief about imminent death, and a maxim.

In one of the rituals of a [[Vivāha|Hindu marriage]], the groom shows the bride the double stars of Vasishtha and Arundhati as an ideal couple, symbolic of marital fulfilment and loyalty. The couples are asked to look up to the constellation symbolizing conjugal love and affection.<ref name="garg-Arundhati" /><ref>{{cite book|title=India through the ages|url=https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada|last=Gopal|first=Madan|year= 1990| page= [https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada/page/70 70]|editor=K.S. Gautam|publisher=Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India}}</ref> On the second bright day of the lunar month of [[Chaitra]], a fast in her honour is observed in certain regions of India by ladies whose husbands are alive. This fast is observed with the belief that the ladies observing it would not be widowed.<ref>Garg 1992, p. 649</ref>

Since the Arundhati star is faintly visible, there is a belief that when someone is near death, they can not see the Arundhati star.<ref name="apte-ref1">Apte 2000, p. 51.</ref> Due to its faintness, the Arundhati used to be shown in steps, first showing the brighter stars, and then relative to that the faint Arundhati star is directed. The maxim in [[Sanskrit]] called the ''[[Arundhati Darshana Nyaya|Arundhatī Darśana Nyāya]]'' (Sanskrit: अरुन्धतीदर्शनन्यायः), used in the meaning of inferring the unknown from that which is known, is named after Arundhati.<ref name="apte-ref2">Apte 2000, p. 305.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{cite book | title = The Student's Sanskrit-English Dictionary | first=Vaman S. | last=Apte | publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] | date=1 January 2000 | isbn=978-81-208-0045-8}}
* {{cite book | title=Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend | first=Anna | last=Dallapiccola | publisher=Thames & Hudson | date=April 2004 | isbn=978-0-500-28402-5 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofhind0000dall }}
* {{cite book | title = Encyclopaedia of the Hindu world: Ar-Az | volume=3 | first=Gaṅgā Rām | last=Garg | publisher=South Asia Books | year=1992 | isbn=978-81-7022-376-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0U2QRpDv2KMC&pg=PA648}}
* {{cite book | title = Kumārasambhava of Kālidāsa | first=Moreshvar Ramchandra | last=Kale | publisher=Motilal Banarsidass | year=2004 | edition=7th | isbn=978-81-208-0161-5}}
* {{cite book | title = अरुन्धती महाकाव्य |trans-title=The Epic Arundhatī | first=Svami | last=Rambhadracharya | language=Hindi | author-link=Jagadguru Rambhadracharya | publisher=Shri Raghav Sahitya Prakashan Nidhi | place=Haridwar, Uttar Pradesh, India | date=7 July 1994 | pages=''iii—vi''}}

{{Ramayana}}

[[Category:Rishis]]
[[Category:Sages in the Ramayana]]

Arundhati Hinduism - Revision history

RosariaE70 at 19:56, 5 March 2025