Her Name

Arundhatī was one of the daughters of the sage Kardama and of Devahūti, the daughter of Manu, the first king. When Kardama's daughters were grown, he gave them in marriage to the great seers who were the makers of the world, as Brahmā, the creator, had told him to: Kalā to Marīci, Anasūyā to Atri, Śraddhā to Aṅgiras, Havirbhū to Pulastya, Gati to Pulaha, Kriyā to Kratu, Khyāti to Bhṛgu, Śānti to Atharvan, and Arundhatī to Vasiṣṭha. Kardama looked after the seers and their wives for a while, and then the seers, married now, took their leave and went home with joy.

Long afterward, when a demoness asked each of the seven seers and Arundhatī to say their names, she explained her own. I hold to the earth that holds and bears all things, she said, and I stay close beside my husband. Because I keep to my husband's mind, anurundhatī, know me as Arundhatī.

In the mountains, at a place called Ujjānaka, the sage Vasiṣṭha found his peace with Arundhatī beside him as his companion.