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Rishikaas - I
 During the Veda period, education for children began at a very young age. An elderly person used to teach the children at home. Boys and girls learnt together. Thus, the girls had the oppurtunity to learn for nearly 10 to 12 years before they got married. Some girls studied even Vedantam (Upanishads) and were geniuses. They were called as 'Brahmavaadhinis'. Among them, some were 'rishikaas' (women
rishis).
In the Rig Veda, there were 27 Brahmavaadhinis who were rishikaas for the Suktas. There were 29 rishikaas in the Rig Veda according to Sayachariyar, who wrote the commentary for it. Apart from this, there were rishikaas during the times of Upanishads and later. If we take the Rig Veda, there were rishikaas like Romasa, Lopamudra, Visuvavara, Abaala, Kosha, Sooriya Savithri, Oorvashi, Waak, Raathiri and Sradha
Kamayani.
Romasa
The first one to appear in the Rig Veda is Romasa. Intolerant of her husband's criticism that she was a small girl, she paid self-encomiums about her beauty and composed a Rig. (Rig Vedam - 1126.7 )
Lopamudra
The next woman maharishi was sage Agasthya's wife, Lopamudra. According to Thalaicauvery Sthalapurana, she was believed to have been the origin of the Cauvery. According to this purana,
 Lopamudra married sage
Agasthya and then laid the condition that they should never separate to which the sage agreed. Once, when he had to leave for a short while, he turned her into water and filled her in his kamandal. It is said that after he left, Lopamudra, unable to contain herself inside the kamandal, swelled and flowed as the River
Cauvery.
Visuvavara
Visuvavara Devi , who hails from the Aththiri maharishi vamsa, is the next rishikaa found in the Rig Veda. She used to chant mantras and perform yaga. During the time of the Rig Veda, women had these rights. Visuvavara performed yaga praying to Agni Bhagwan, the Lord of Fire. (Rig Veda -v 28)
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