by Roshen Dalal
HIRANYAGARBHA
A deity first referred to in the Rig Veda, where he is mentioned only once and said to be the supreme god. He is also mentioned in the Atharva Veda and Brahmanas. In the Taittiriya Samhita, he is identified with Prajapati and, in later texts, with Brahma. Hiranyagarbha means ‘golden womb’ and is the cosmic womb from which all life originates. Hiranyagarbha is also identified with Brahman, the ultimate reality.
ILA/IDA
A goddess, mentioned in the Rig Veda. The name means ‘nourishment’ and she was the personification of the offering of milk and butter, representing the nourishment provided by the cow. In the Rig Veda, she is called ‘butter-footed’ and ‘butter-handed’, and Agni is once said to be her son. In the Shatapatha Brahmana, she is the daughter of Manu or of Mitra-Varuna. According to the Taittiriya Samhita, Manu sent her to see whether the sacrifice of the devas and asuras had been conducted properly. She said their sacrifice was incorrect and described the correct way, as a result of which the devas attained prosperity. Through Ila, Manu gave birth to the human race. In later texts, she was a mythical person, both a woman and a man.
INDRA
The most important deity in the Rig Veda, Indra has approximately two hundred and fifty hymns addressed to him in that text. Along with other deities, he is praised in at least another fifty hymns. He is the god of thunder and the dominant deity of the middle region, pervading the air. He is also invoked in wars and battles, and helps warriors and kings in their struggles. Indra’s form and weapons are described. His weapon is the vajra or thunderbolt, also the name of lightning, and it is described as golden and metallic. Indra is sometimes described as golden-coloured but, more often, is said to be tawny, with tawny hair and a tawny beard. He can take on different forms and radiates light like the sun. Apart from his vajra, he uses bows and arrows and carries an ankusha (hook or goad). He rides in a golden chariot drawn by two bay or tawny horses, or sometimes by even 1000 horses. Their hair is like peacock feathers and they have golden manes.
His Family and Dog
He is said to have been born and his mother is in one passage said to be a cow (grishti), and in another is called Nishtigri. The later commentator Sayana identifies this with Aditi, his mother in later texts. In the Atharva Veda, the mother of Indra and Agni is known as Ekashtaka, who was the daughter of Prajapati. Indra’s father is mentioned as Dyaus or Tvashtr. Indra is married to Indrani, who is known as Shachi and Pulomaja. According to the Aitareya Brahmana, his wives were called Prasaha or Sena, who have been identified with Indrani. Sometimes other female consorts are mentioned. He was the most powerful of gods and is, therefore, known as Shakra (mighty), Shachivat (possessed of might), and Shachipati, (lord of might, or husband of Shachi). He had a female dog named Sarama, who assisted him as his messenger to the Panis. Indra is said to be huge in size, greater than heaven, earth and air, and than the two worlds. The other gods were subordinate to him, and he was king of the whole world, the ruler of the universe.
Indra’s Helpers or Associates (Gods)
Indra is associated with the Maruts and loves drinking Soma. Indra’s love of Soma is reflected particularly in hymn 10.119. The first three verses are given here:
This, even was my resolve, to win a cow, to win a steed:
Have I not drunk of Soma juice?
Like violent gusts of wind the draughts that I have drunk have lifted me:
Have I not drunk of Soma juice?
The draughts I drank have borne me up, as fleet-foot horses draw a chariot:
Have I not drunk of Soma juice?
But, as A.A. Macdonell, the British-origin Sanskrit scholar, points out, ‘The exhilaration of Soma partook of a religious character in the eyes of the Vedic poets.’ Agni is sometimes considered his twin brother, and Pushan is also called his brother. In one hymn in the Rig Veda (4.26), Indra says he was, in earlier times, both Manu and Surya. He is sometimes considered the same as Surya and, in one passage, is referred to as Savitr (2.30).
Indra Kills Vritra
He was the slayer of Vritra, the chief of dragons or serpents (ahi), who was obstructing the waters. When Indra struck Vritra with his vajra, heaven and earth trembled, and streams of water were released. References to him releasing the waters are frequent. He then used his bolt to dig out channels for the waters to flow in, and they reached the sea. One passage connects him with ninety rivers (1.80). The imagery of cows is often used in Indra’s release of the waters, and it is thought they may represent rain clouds. Indra is called Vritrahan, killer of Vritra, at least seventy times. The Shatapatha Brahmana (1.6.4) identifies Indra with Surya, and Vritra with the moon.
Another possibility is that Vritra actually represents some natural obstruction, which had temporarily blocked the flow of one or more rivers. This could have been caused by tectonic change.
Indra’s location and association with natural forces
Mountains (parvata, giri) are frequently referred to in connection with Indra. Indra defeats enemies or demons from the mountains (1.130) or shoots his arrows from the mountains (8.66). He has also opened the rock (adri) to release the cows.
Other Aspects of Indra
He defeats other minor demons, including Urana who has ninety-nine arms, Vishvarupa who has three heads and six eyes, and Arbuda.
Indra is also known as Purandara or ‘breaker of forts’. He was the friend and defender of his worshippers, and was invoked in battles. He helped the aryas who worshipped him and defeated their enemies. He destroyed the forts of the dasas. He made the dasyus subject to the aryas (6.18) and gave land to the aryas (4.16). He deflected dasyu weapons from the aryas in the land of the seven rivers (8.14). Agni, the Ashvins, and other devas are also protectors of the aryas. Indra helps and protects those who worship him, and is their friend and brother. He is once called Kaushika indicating he favoured the Kushika family. He provides his worshippers with wealth, cows, and horses. He is called gopati, ‘lord of cows’, and his battles are termed gavishti, ‘desire for cows’. The Panis kept the cows in a cave far away beyond the river Rasa. Indra desiring the cows pierced Vala’s unbroken ridge and defeated the Panis. There are other passages concerning Vala who confined the cows and was driven out by Indra, where the Panis are not mentioned. The Angirasas help Indra in defeating Vala and releasing the cows. Indra defeats dasas and dasyus, who may be both human enemies or demons. Shambara, son of Kulitara, was defeated for Divodasa Atithigva, father or ancestor of Sudas.
Among his many battles, Indra helped Sudas in his battle against the ten kings, brought Yadu and Turvasha across the rivers, and crushed twenty chiefs and their 60,099 warriors along with Sushravas.
One dialogue hymn concerns Indra, Indrani, and Vrishakapi; this has been variously interpreted but the German scholar Peter von Bradke sees it as a satire, in which Indra and Indrani represent a king and his wife. Another interesting hymn (8.80) recounts the story of Apala, a woman who finds Soma near a river, presses it with her teeth, and presents it to Indra, receiving a reward from him.
Though Indra was not so powerful later on, he was frequently mentioned in other texts, and there are numerous stories about him in the Mahabharata and Puranas. In later times, Indra became secondary to Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, and is one of the Dikapalas, the guardian of the eastern quarter. However, his worship as an independent deity continued to some extent. In the Zoroastrian Avesta, his name occurs twice as that of a demon but also as a deity, Verethraghna, the same as the Sanskrit Vritrahan, defeater of Vritra.
Indra is known by a number of different names. Maghavan is one of his names in the Vedas. In the Rig Veda, he is referred to in dual forms such as Indra-Agni, Indra-Ashva, Indra-Brahmanaspati, Indra-Parvata, Indra-Pushan, Indra-Ribhu-gana, Indra-Soma, Indra-Usha, Indra-Varuna, Indra-Vayu, Indra-Vishnu, and Indra-Brihaspati. Indra-Varuna are together called universal gods, who provide riches and fame. They drink Soma and defeat and kill Vritra. Indra-Agni drink Soma together and sit together at the time of the sacrifice.
They too are the killers of Vritra, and destroyed ninety-nine forts of the dasas. Two hymns are dedicated to Indra-Brihaspati who are prayed to for wealth and prosperity. They, as well as the pairs Indra-Vayu and Indra-Vishnu, are invited to drink Soma and attend the sacrifice. Indra-Soma together destroy all enemies and fill the world with light. Indra-Pushan are praised together in one hymn.
Indra is one of the main deities in the Sama Veda.
INDRANI
The wife of Indra, she is mentioned in the Rig Veda and the Brahmanas. In the Puranas, she is the daughter of Puloman and the mother of Jayanta and Jayanti. She is also known as Shachi, Pulomaja, Shakrani, Mahendrani, and Paulomi.
INDU
A name sometimes applied to Soma. It can be translated as ‘drop’ or ‘moon’.
KA
A Sanskrit word, which means ‘who?’, and came to mean a deity, particularly Prajapati. A hymn in the Rig Veda (10.121) poses the question: which god (Ka) should be adored? It begins:
In the beginning rose Hiranyagarbha, born only lord of all created beings. He fixed and holdeth up this earth and heaven. What god shall we adore with our oblation?
Giver of vital breath, of power and vigour, he whose commandments all the gods acknowledge: The lord of death, whose shade is life immortal. What god shall we adore with our oblation?
(Translated by R.T.H. Griffith)
Each verse ends with this question until, at the end of the hymn, it provides the answer: ‘Prajapati! Thou only comprehend all these created things, and none beside thee.’ In the Later Vedic Samhitas and Brahmanas, Ka is used both as a name of Prajapati and a name in itself, that of the supreme deity. In the Puranas, it is a name of the god Vishnu.
KALA (KAALA)
A Sanskrit term for ‘time’. In the Atharva Veda, Kala or time is said to be the ‘first god’ and the creator of heaven and earth. Kala is also time, which destroys all things, and later the god Shiva as the destroyer as well as Yama as the god of death are associated with Kala. Other gods too are sometimes referred to as Kala. The concept of Kala was extensively analysed in various schools of philosophy including Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, and Vedanta. The idea of it as the creator and first god can be compared to the concept of Zurvan in later Zoroastrianism.
KAMA
The god of love. The term, originally meaning ‘desire’, is mentioned in the Rig Veda but is first clearly recognized as a deity in the Atharva Veda. A verse in this text states that Kama is a supreme deity, unequalled by gods, pitris (ancestors) or men. Kama is believed to fulfil all desires and is also identified with Agni, the god of fire. In the Taittiriya Brahmana, he is said to be the son of Dharma Deva, by his wife Shraddha. There are more accounts of him in later texts as well as numerous myths and legends. In these texts, Kama is known by several names and is, at the same time, a name of other deities, including Shiva and Vishnu.
KSHETRASYAPATI
A protector deity of the fields, first mentioned in the Rig Veda. The Grihya Sutras state that he should be worshipped before ploughing a field.
KUHU
A goddess, who represents the new moon. She is mentioned in the later Samhitas and Brahmanas.
KUNAMNAMA
A female deity, she is mentioned in one Rig Vedic hymn (10.136). However, several translators do not see this as a name.
MADHUKASHA
In the Atharva Veda (9.1), Madhukasha is the mother of the Adityas. She is golden coloured and the daughter of the Vasus.
MAHI
A goddess in the Rig Veda, she is mentioned in the Apri hymns, usually along with Sarasvati and Bharati.
MANU
A term referring to the first, or archetypal, man. In the Rig Veda, the term is used both for ‘man’ and as a proper name. Manu is said to be a father and the creator of the sacrifice. Both Manu Vivasvat and Manu Samvarani are mentioned in the late Valakhilya hymns. Manu Vivasvat is also mentioned in the Atharva Veda. In later texts, Manu is the name or title of fourteen mystical rulers of the earth. Of them Samvarani or Savarni is the eighth and Manu Vaivasvata, son of Vivasvat, is the seventh, and the current ruler of the earth. Manu is said to be the first of men living on the earth. The Shatapatha Brahmana has a story of a flood in which Manu is saved in a ship drawn by matsya, a fish. This story is probably known at the time of the Atharva Veda, as it is suggested in one passage (19.39). In later texts, Matsya is an incarnation of the god Vishnu. According to Hindu myths and cosmological stories in the Puranas and other texts, Brahma, creator of the world, also has a beginning and an end. One lifetime of his is known as a mahakalpa, at the end of which there is a mahapralaya, or ‘great deluge’. One day of his is known as a kalpa, and consists of fourteen manvantaras, each presided over by a Manu.
MANYU
A deity, he is the personification of anger, and is mentioned in the Rig Veda and praised in two hymns. He glows like fire, protects his worshippers, and defeats their enemies. He also grants wealth and is said to be united with tapas, ‘ascetic fervour’, which gives him great power. Manyu is mentioned in later texts as the name of an Agni or fire.
MARTANDA
A deity, a name of Surya, or the sun god. Martanda is one of the eight Adityas in the Rig Veda.
MARUTS
A group of deities prominent in the Rig Veda. Thirty-three hymns are dedicated to them in addition to nine along with another deity. According to this text, they were the sons of Rudra, associated with thunder, lightning, and rain. They formed a gana or group, and their number was said to be three times seven, or three times sixty. They were closely connected with the goddess Rodasi, and were probably married to her. They are also mentioned with the goddesses Indrani and Sarasvati. They wore spears on their shoulders, anklets on their feet, golden ornaments on their breasts, and golden helmets on their heads. They rode across the sky in golden chariots, drawn by horses with golden feet, as swift as thought. They were invoked not only for rain but also to bring healing remedies from seas, mountains, and rivers. They were called singers and were associated with the god Indra. They were helpers of Indra but, at times, seem to have been in conflict with him. They were self-luminous, shining and brilliant, of the same age, and born at the same place. In the Vedas, they seem to be primarily storm gods but later represent winds. Some scholars see the Maruts as personifications of souls of the dead, but there is no evidence of this in the Rig Veda. Marut-Agni is a joint deity in some hymns, whereas Indra is referred to as Marutvan. The Maruts are also mentioned in the Ramayana, Puranas, and other texts. According to a Puranic story, they consisted of forty-nine gods, the sons of Kashyapa and Diti. In later accounts, these forty-nine Maruts are divided into seven ganas or groups of seven deities each.
MATALI
Matali is mentioned in the Rig Veda and is said to have been ‘made strong by the Kavyas’ (10.14.3). He could have been a semi-divine being. Later, he was the charioteer of the god Indra. According to the Mahabharata, Matali took Arjuna to Indra’s heaven in his chariot. In the Ramayana, he carried Rama in it for his fight with Ravana.
MATARISHVAN
A deity mentioned in the Rig Veda, who is sometimes equated with Agni. There is no separate hymn to him in the Rig Veda but he is mentioned twenty-seven times. He seems to have been a personification of Agni. In some passages, he is connected with the Bhrigus. In the Atharva Veda, Matarishvan is connected both with Agni and with Vayu, and Yaska feels it is another name of Vayu.
MITRA
A deity associated with the god Varuna, usually referred to along with him as Mitra-Varuna. In the Rig Veda, there is only one hymn, which is to him alone (3.59). Here he is said to ‘bring men together uttering his voice’, and the same phrase occurs in other hymns as well. Some hymns state that he supports heaven and earth and sustains all gods. In the Atharva Veda, in two hymns, Mitra is connected with the morning and sunrise, and Varuna with evening and darkness. In the later Brahmanas, he is considered a god of the daytime. Mitra is referred to in the Yajur Veda (Taittiriya Samhita and other t
exts), where he is to be offered a white victim, and Varuna a dark one. In the Mahabharata and Puranas, he is one of the Adityas. Mitra is similar to the Zoroastrian Mithra, god of light and sun, guardian of friendship and faithfulness, who developed into the deity of a major cult in the Roman empire. In the Mahabharata, Mitra also appears as a name of the god Shiva.
MITRA-VARUNA
Twenty-three hymns, and parts of several others, are dedicated to the two deities together. In their dual form, they are said to be young, shining, and bright.
NARASHAMSA
A deity in the Rig Veda, he is associated with Agni and occasionally with Pushan. He is also considered a form of Agni, and Agni is said to be Narashamsa when he is born. The Naighantuka takes him as a separate deity.
NIRRITI
A deity first mentioned in the Rig Veda, where his name occurs twelve times, sometimes in association with Yama, god of death. He is recognized there as a god of death or destruction. Later, he becomes one of the Dikapalas, the guardian of the south-west. He is also described as one of the eleven Rudras, and is said to be the son of Sthanu and grandson of Brahma. In later texts, Nirriti is also a female deity of destruction.