Rishi

Rishi (Sanskrit: ṛṣi, Devanagari: ऋषि) denotes the composers of Vedic hymns. However, according to post-Vedic tradition, the rishi is a "seer" to whom the Vedas were "originally revealed" through states of higher consciousness. The rishis were prominent when Vedic Hinduism took shape, as far back as some three thousand years ago.

Many ancient rishis were male as well as female. Rishi is often used for both, but also mostly for male rishis and rishika for female in Sanskrit. According to the late Vedic Sarvanukramani text, there were as many as 20 women among the authors of the Rig Veda, known as rishika. According to modern teachers Deepak Chopra and Swamini Mayatitananda, this number could be as high as 35.

One of the foundational qualities of a ṛṣi is satyavāc (one who speaks truth) when composing Vedic hymns. According to tradition, other sages might falter, but a ṛṣi was believed to speak only truth, because he or she existed in the Higher World (the unified field of consciousness). Ṛṣis provided knowledge to the world which included the knowledge of Vedas.