The brahmavādinīs - The brahmavādinīs underwent the sacrament of upanayana, kept the Vedic fires, studied the Vedas under their own father and lived by begging the food, also under the parental roof. They had samā- vartana (valedictory rite at the end of the period of Vedic studies) also. They could then marry and settle down in life. The name ‘brahmavādinī’ seems to have been given due to the fact that the girl could recite (vad = to speak or recite) the Vedas (Brahma = Veda). It might also have been applied to those women who were interested in discussing about Brahman, the Absolute, and perform spiritual practices to realize the same. May be due to this reason that the Brhadāranyaka Upaniṣad[1] calls Maitreyi, wife of the sage Yājñavalkya, as a ‘brahmavādinī’.