PÁRVATII ASSERTS THE DIGNITY OF WOMEN

Giribhúh. If you use this word in the feminine gender you must use a visarga [“ah” (ঃ – গিরিভূঃ)]. It means Párvatii, “Who Was Born in the Mountains”. According to mythology Sati, the daughter of King Daksha and Prasuti, self-immolated in the sacrificial fire at Daksha’s palace and was reborn as Párvatii, or Gaorii, the daughter of Himalaya and Menaka. She won Shiva as her husband by practising severe penances. As she was born in the mountainous region, as mentioned above, she was called “Giribhúh”. (Giri means “mountain” and bhúh means “born out of”.)

Although it is said that in ancient Aryan society women enjoyed a certain amount of status, they were not accorded full respect. But in the non-Aryan society of India, the status of women was equal to that of the men. They enjoyed equal rights with their male counterparts; they walked side-by-side. Lord Shiva wanted women to be treated as they deserved irrespective of whether they were Aryans or non-Aryans. Most of the arrogant Aryans opposed Him, though some, of course, supported Him. Párvatii was in the forefront in the fight for women’s rights.

At that time, the visarga was used with first-case singular-number words to confer special honour. Párvatii always used the visarga with her name just to assert her sense of dignity. Since then, the visarga has been accepted in the spelling of “Giribhúh”. Whether or not this story is actually a fact, I neither have any objection, nor is there any cause for objection, if the visarga is retained.