Elements of Hindu Iconography v4.c35.s2.33

v4.c35.s2.33

The word ṛiṣi, according to the Nirukta, means the rays of the sun and these are said to be seven in number. By an extension of meaning the term came to be applied to the ṛiṣis, the seers; just as the sun's rays spread everywhere and disclose the existence of all things, the seers or the ṛiṣis are able to perceive everything. Again, the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa considers the ṛiṣis as breaths and derives the word ṛiṣi thus: “In as much as before all this Universe, they, desiring this Universe, were worn out (arishan) with toil and austerity therefore they are ṛiṣis.” Later on, the ṛiṣis were regarded as those who had reached the other end (pāragas) of jñāna and saṃsāra. The origin of the ṛiṣis according to the Nirukta is as follows:—Brahmā took some dirt from his