FROM COSMIC WOMB TO CULTURAL ARCHETYPE: THE CONCEPT OF MĀTṚ (MOTHER) IN VEDIC LITERATURE AND ITS MODERN RESONANCES

Abstract

The Sanskrit term mātṛ (mother) holds a fundamental and multifaceted role in Vedic literature, transcending its biological meaning. In early Indo-Aryan philosophy, motherhood serves as a cosmological, ecological, ritualistic, and metaphysical principle. The Vedic seers utilized mother symbolism to express concepts of origin, fertility, protection, moral order (ṛta), and sacred speech (vāc). Vedic literature creates a comprehensive theology utilizing maternal metaphors, ranging from the representation of Ṛgveda's Pṛthivī as the universal mother and Aditi as the cosmic womb, to rivers and cows as nursing mothers, and speech as generative awareness. This study examines the semantic breadth and philosophical significance of mātṛ, utilizing textual evidence from the Ṛgveda, Atharvaveda, Brāhmaṇa literature, and traditional commentary, especially the bhāṣya of Sāyaṇa. It additionally examines the development of maternal symbolism in post-Vedic theology and assesses its reinterpretation within contemporary nationalist, environmentalist, and feminist discourses. The paper posits that the Vedic notion of motherhood serves as a metaphysical archetype that persists in shaping Indian ethical and spiritual awareness.