Arundhati

Arundhati is the wife of the sage Vasishtha, one of the seven sages (Saptarshi) of Hinduism. Etymology The name in Sanskrit literally means 'washed by the rays of sun', from 'sun rays', and , '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. Her role in pleading Shiva to marry Parvati is described in the sixth canto of Kumarasambhava of Kalidasa. 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 Vyasa. 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 Puranas describe her as the daughter of Kashyapa and sister of Narada and Parvata, and she was offered in marriage to Vasishtha by Narada.