Vāc

{{redirect|Vāk|other uses|Vak (disambiguation)}}

{{short description|Vedic goddess associated with Saraswati}}

Vac ({{langx|sa|वाच्}}, {{IAST|vāc}}) 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.{{Cite book|last=Holdrege|first=Barbara A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YlvikndgEmIC&q=Vac+Prajapati&pg=PA48|title=Veda and Torah: Transcending the Textuality of Scripture|date=2012-02-01|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-1-4384-0695-4|language=en}} She is also associated with Indra in Aitareya Aranyaka.[https://books.google.com/books?id=1HMXN9h6WX0C&pg=RA1-PA260 The Myths and Gods of India], Alain Daniélou, pages 260-261 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).

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.{{cite book|author=David Kinsley|title=Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hgTOZEyrVtIC&pg=PA222 |year=1987|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0394-7|pages=55, 222}} 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.{{Cite book |last=Thomas C. McEvilley |url=http://archive.org/details/thomas-c.-mcevilley-the-shape-of-ancient-thought-comparative-studies-in-greek-an |title=Thomas C. Mcevilley The Shape Of Ancient Thought Comparative Studies In Greek And Indian Philosophies ( 2001, Allworth Press) Libgen.lc |date=2001}}