from wikipedia : Ghosha was born during the Vedic period in India. Her father was Kakshivat and grandfather was Dīrghatamas and both of them had written hymns in the Rigveda. She was suffering from a skin ailment and was confined to the house attending to her father. According to a hymn, she suffered from leprosy, which had disfigured her. She was thus a celibate for a long period. She fervently prayed to Ashvins, the divine physician twins of the time, who were proficient in rejuvenation. They taught her Madhu Vidhya, a Vedic teaching, a science of secret learning to restore youth and acquire immense knowledge, to get her cured of skin ailment. Because of her constant prayers Ashvini Kumars cured her skin problem and restored her beauty. She was then married. She had a son, Suhstya, who also composed a hymn in the Rigveda.
Ghosha composed two hymns in praise of the Ashvini Kumars which are contained in two suktas (hymns) of the tenth Mandala (book) of Rigveda, chapter X hymns 39 and 40, each containing 14 verses. The first hymn praises the Ashvins. The second hymn is a personal desire expressing her intimate feelings and desires for married life.[6][7][8] The two hymns are:[9]
“ Asvins Your radiant Chariot -whither goes it on its way? Who decks it for you, Heroes, for its happy course starting at daybreak visiting each morning every house, borne hitherward through prayer unto the sacrifice? ” “ Where are you, Asvins, in the evening, where at morn? Where is your halting place, where rest ye for the night? O Heroes, this I beg of you. 'Be near me in the day, be near me in the night'.
I felt touched and inspired by her story , because it is very sentimental in nature. As we all go through life, we too face lots of issues and we too do a lot of prayers to god. But I still fail to understand how and why her prayers became immortalized in vedas, considering it was personal in nature, and what are its larger implications ?
