by Roshen Dalal
SKAMBHA
A deity praised in the Atharva Veda (10.7, 8), he is said to uphold or support the world. Some verses from 10.7 are given here to indicate the nature of Skambha.
7. Who out of many, tell me, is that Skambha,
On whom Prajapati set up and firmly established all the worlds?
8. That universe which Prajapati created, wearing all forms, the
highest, midmost, lowest,
How far did Skambha penetrate within it? What portion did
he leave unpenetrated?
9. How far within the past has Skambha entered? How much of
him has reached into the future?
That one part which he set in a thousand places, how far did
Skambha penetrate within it?
10. Who out of many, tell me, is that Skambha in whom men
recognize the Waters, Brahma,
In whom they know the worlds and their enclosures, in whom
are non-existence and existence?
11. Declare that, Skambha, who is he of many,
In whom, exerting every power, Fervour maintains her loftiest
vow;
In whom are comprehended Law, Waters, Devotion and Belief
12. Who out of many, tell me, is that Skambha
On whom as their foundation earth and firmament and sky are
set;
In whom as their appointed place rest Fire and Moon and Sun
and Wind?
13. Who out of many, tell me, is that Skambha
He in whose body are contained all three-and-thirty Deities?
(10.7)
SOMA
A deity, god of the moon, who originated in the Rig Veda, where he also represented a divine drink, made from the Soma plant.
In the Rig Veda, Soma is one of the most important deities. All the 114 hymns of the ninth book are dedicated to him, both in his realistic form as a plant and as a deity. There are also six other hymns dedicated to him, and he is mentioned and praised in many more. On the basis of the number of times he is mentioned, he is the third-most important deity in the Rig Veda. The method of extracting juice from the plant is described in detail, as well as the nature of the juice, which is said to be the equivalent of amrita, the drink of immortality. The drink had an exhilarating and invigorating effect, as well as medicinal properties, and this led it to be considered divine. It is probably the same as the Avestan Haoma, from the Haoma plant. Soma is also the lord of the plants, or of the woods (Vanaspati). He is a king of the rivers and of the earth, and the father of the gods. Soma is also known as Indu.
One hymn (8.48) states: ‘We have drunk Soma, we have become immortal, we have entered into light, we have known the gods.’ Soma is called a wise rishi, who has 1000 eyes. He is the soul of Indra, and his auspicious friend, and sometimes even his vajra. Soma is also invoked jointly with other deities. Thus we have Indra-Soma, (discussed under Indra); Agni-Soma (under Agni), Soma-Pushan who together provide wealth and remove darkness, and Soma-Rudra who remove sickness and free their worshippers from sin.
As Soma sacrifices form an important part of Vedic ritual, Soma is frequently referred to in the Sama and Yajur Vedas. The method of pressing and straining it, and it being mixed with water and milk is described. Soma is pressed three times a day. (This can be linked to sacrificial rituals that take place in temples today). It can be mixed with milk (gavashir), sour milk (dadhyashir), or barley (yavashir).
Soma’s abode is said to be heaven or the highest heaven, from where an eagle brought the Soma. In the Brahmanas, Gayatri brings the Soma. Soma is called a god, a king of rivers, a king of the whole earth, and of gods and people. The Soma plant has been variously identified, the most common identification being with Ephedra. Its identification has been discussed in Chapter 6.
In post-Vedic literature, Soma is the name of the moon. Some scholars feel Soma is connected with the moon even in the Rig Veda while others feel the identification is made only in later texts. Like the Soma plant, the moon is drunk by the gods, thus explaining the waning of the moon.
SUNRITA
A goddess, literally ‘bounty’, she is a minor deity in the Rig Veda, mentioned three times.
SURYA
A name for the sun as well as a deity, the sun god. There are ten hymns to Surya in the Rig Veda, mostly in mandalas 1 and 10, and references in many more. In some cases, Surya refers only to the sun, not to its personification as a deity. In the Rig Veda, it is said that Surya shines for the whole world, prolongs life, and drives away sickness, disease, and evil dreams. He is the face of Agni, or the eye of Mitra and Varuna. He is born of the gods, and the seven horses who draw his chariot represent the rays of the sun. He is a bird traversing space or a brilliant white steed. Sometimes his chariot is drawn by a single horse, called Etasha. He is the asurya purohita of the gods, that is, their special priest. He is a brilliant ayudha or weapon, and is also called a chakra or wheel, probably referring to the wheel of time. In the Atharva Veda, he is referred to as the ‘lord of eyes’ and the eye of created beings, which can see the whole world and beyond. In the Vedas, Savitr, Pushan, Bhaga, Mitra, Vivasvat, and Aryaman are sometimes considered synonyms of Surya, though these were also individual deities. Surya is also known as Aditya, son of Aditi. His father is said to be Dyaus. Sometimes he is said to be born of the gods, who placed him in heaven, or to have come from the eye of Purusha. Various gods including Dhatr, and the pairs of Indra-Vishnu, Indra-Soma, and Indra-Varuna had a hand in his creation. In one passage (RV 10.62), the prayers of the Angirasas are said to have caused Surya to reach his position in the sky. In some passages in the Rig Veda, Indra is said to have defeated Surya.
In the Rig Veda, Surya is sometimes invoked with the moon as Suryamasa or Suryachandramasa. The term ‘surya’ is derived from the Sanskrit root svar and in the Avesta the sun is known as hvare, from the same root. Drawn by swift horses, it is the eye of Ahura Mazda. Sun gods and goddesses are worshipped in other ancient cultures, and the Hittite word for sun was surias.
In India, Surya continued to be worshipped after the Vedic period. In fact, a hymn in the Mahabharata begins with a description of the deity similar to that in the Vedas: ‘You are the eye of the universe and the soul of all material creation.’
SURYAA
The daughter of the god Surya. Her marriage is referred to in a wedding hymn in Mandala 10 of the Rig Veda. In various other parts of the text, she is said to be married to Soma, the Ashvins, or Pushan.
TANU NAPAT
A deity who is associated with Agni—or alternatively, a name of Agni. The name, which appears eight times in the Rig Veda, is generally in the second verse of the Apri hymns, where Agni is invoked under different names. The Naighantuka sees him as a separate deity. Tanu Napat is said to distribute or disperse the benefits of the sacrifice.
TRITA APTYA
A deity in the Rig Veda, he has no separate hymn dedicated to him but is mentioned forty times in twenty-nine hymns. His name aptya signifies his connection with water. He is usually associated with Indra and also with Agni, the Maruts, and Soma. Along with Indra, he was involved in killing Vritra, Vala, Vishvarupa, and Arbuda. Trita is said to live in a secret, faraway place but, when born in a house, he comes as a youth surrounded by brightness. In one passage, he is said to be the centre of wisdom. The concept of him being a distant god is revealed in a passage where prayers are made to the Adityas and Usha to send evil dreams and actions to Trita Aptya. In one hymn he is said to have been deep in a well, and was rescued by Brihaspati; in another, he is in a pit (vavre) but comes out after praying to his father. In the Atharva Veda, Trita is mentioned as a god to whom dreams or guilt can be transferred. In the Taittiriya Samhita, he is said to grant a long life. His name signifies ‘the third’.
In the Brahmanas, Trita was a rishi, the brother of Ekata (one) and Dvita (two). The Rig Vedic reference to him being in a well is elaborated on by Sayana who quotes a story where it is said that his brothers pushed hi
m in, but he prayed to the gods and was rescued. Yaska, in his Nirukta, explains the term Trita, as ‘one who has wisdom’ and, in another passage, says that Trita is Indra in three abodes—heaven, earth, and air.
His counterpart in the Avesta is Thrita, the third man to prepare haoma (Soma) or Thraetona, who slew the serpent Azi Dahaka. In the Yashts, Thrita is called the son of Shayuzdri; in the Vendidad, he is stated to have received 10,000 healing plants, which grew near the white haoma plant, from Ahura Mazda. Trita has been considered a god of lightning, or of wind and water, or of the moon. Others feel he was a healer, who was later deified.
TRATR
A protector deity in the Rig Veda, and also a name of other deities including Indra and Agni. Roth felt the name referred to Savitr or Bhaga.
TVASHTR/TVASHTA
A Vedic deity whose nature is somewhat obscure. He has been considered a solar deity, a god of the year, or an abstract god. Most commonly he is considered the divine artisan. Though there is no entire hymn dedicated to him in the Rig Veda, his name occurs about fifty times.
Tvashtr is described as holding an axe. He gave all beings their form, fashioned the bolt of Indra, sharpened the axe of Brahmanaspati, and formed a new cup which held the food of the asura (here meaning a divine being). He is said to be agraja, or the first born, one who goes in front, and a companion of the Angirasas. His daughter was Saranyu, wife of Vivasvat, from whom Yama and Yami, as well as the Ashvins, were born. Tvashtr also had a son, Vishvarupa, who was attacked by Indra. The Vajasaneyi Samhita states he is a universal father, who made the whole world. In the Atharva Veda, he is described as an old man, carrying a bowl of Soma. The Shatapatha Brahmana states that he produced and nourishes a great variety of creatures. In the Puranas, he is identified with Vishvakarma, and sometimes with Prajapati.
In the Mahabharata he is one of the Adityas and was the creator or father of Vritra. In later texts, Tvashtr is a name of various deities including Surya, Shiva, and Vishnu. He is thought to belong to an earlier group of gods along with Trita and others, or to be different from the other Vedic deities.
USHA/USHAS
A deity mentioned in the Rig Veda, she is the goddess of the dawn. Forty hymns in the Rig Veda are dedicated to her, and she is mentioned over three hundred times.
In the Vedic hymns, Usha is said to be shining and bright, ancient yet young, as she is born again and again. She is the one who drives away the darkness and awakens all life. Clothed in light, she appears in the east. She chases away evil dreams and evil spirits. At the same time, she reveals the hidden treasures of the dark. Her chariot radiates light and is drawn by reddish horses, or by bulls or cows. These are thought to represent the rays of the morning sun, or the red clouds at morning. In one passage, she is said to arrive in 100 chariots, reflecting the way the dawn lights the sky with hundreds of rays. Her radiant rays are like herds of cattle, hence she is called the mother of cattle. She awakens the devout worshippers, leaving others to sleep. She herself was first awakened by the Vasishthas. She travels thirty yojanas in a day. She is closely associated with Savitr and Surya, and is the sister of Bhaga, an Aditya. She is mentioned together with Ratri as Ushasanakta (Usha + Ratri) and is her sister. She is associated with Agni, and related to Varuna. Soma, Agni, and Brihaspati are among those mentioned as being responsible for the birth or discovery of Usha. The Naighantuka provides sixteen descriptive names of Usha, and she is known by several more. The term ushas comes from the root vas, to shine, and is related to the Greek goddess Eos, the Roman Aurora, and perhaps the Germanic Ostara or Austron, Baltic Ausra, and Lithuanian Ausrine. In PIE, the name has been reconstructed as Hewsos or Hausos, though other reconstructions are also suggested.
VACH/VAK
A goddess in the Rig Veda, later identified with Sarasvati, Vach is the personification of speech, through whom divine knowledge is communicated. One hymn (10.125) is dedicated to her, and she is mentioned in others. She is called the queen of the gods and is said to accompany other deities. She is also associated with water. In the Naighuntaka, she is referred to as madhyamika-vach, or the ‘voice or sound of the middle region’. In the Taittiriya Brahmana, she is the wife of Indra and the mother of the Vedas, while in the Shatapatha Brahmana and Kathaka Upanishad, she is associated with Prajapati. In the Mahabharata and most of the Puranas, Vach is identified with Sarasvati. However, according to the Padma Purana, Vach was one of the daughters of Daksha, and a wife of Kashyapa.
VARUNA
A deity, he is usually mentioned along with Mitra in the Rig Veda. Only twelve hymns are exclusively dedicated to Varuna in this text, and twenty-four to Varuna-Mitra. Varuna was a moral and ethical deity. His face is similar to Agni; his eye through which he observes the world is like Surya, the sun. He has 1000 eyes and can see far into the distance. His chariot, drawn by horses, shines like the sun. Both Mitra and Varuna lived in a golden residence in the highest heaven. Varuna was omniscient— he knew the flight of the birds, the path of ships, the course of the wind, and all the secrets of the world. A highly ethical god, he punished those who broke his laws, which were fixed or permanent. Like the other great gods, he too was known as an asura, a word which in early days meant a divine being. He is important even in the Atharva Veda where a hymn (4.16) dedicated to him says that the god knows all secrets, and there is nothing in heaven and earth unknown to him. One verse states:
Whatever exists in heaven and earth,
Whatever beyond the skies,
Before the eyes of Varuna, the king,
Unfolded lies.
(4.16.5)
The Shatapatha Brahmana (11.6.1) says that Varuna sits in the middle of heaven and is the lord of the universe. His nature and character have led scholars to see him as similar to Ahura Mazda, the name of God of Zoroastrianism (asura is paralleled by ahura in Persian) though there is no similarity in the name, and the concept too is somewhat different. He has also been compared with Semitic concepts of god.
In post-Vedic times, though there are numerous stories about Varuna, he was a more minor deity, the lord of the waters and guardian of the western quarter.
VARUNANI/VARUNI
A goddess in the Rig Veda, she is the wife of Varuna.
VASTOSHPATI
A deity who is the protector of the house. In the Rig Veda, one hymn is dedicated to the deity, who is mentioned seven times more. He is prayed to for protection, blessings, prosperity, and freedom from disease. His name means ‘Lord of the dwelling’ and, according to the Grihya Sutras, he should be propitiated before entering a new house. There are also prayers to him in the Atharva Veda.
VASUS
A group of gods mentioned in the Rig Veda, though their number is not given here. Later, Agni is said to be their leader. The Taittiriya Samhita states that they numbered 333 but, in the Brahmanas, they are said to be eight. In most later texts too, they are said to be eight, and to represent aspects of nature.
VATA
In the Rig Veda, a name of the wind god, Vayu. Vata literally means ‘wind’ or ‘air’. The name Vata is sometimes thought to come from the same root as that of the Germanic god, Odin.
VAYU
The god of the wind, first mentioned in the Rig Veda, where he is also known as Vata. Here, Vayu seems to be the personified form of Vata, the wind. Vayu has one hymn solely dedicated to him, and six jointly with Indra. In addition he is invoked in parts of other hymns. Vata has two separate hymns to him, and is sometimes mentioned with Vayu. His chariot is said to have a golden seat, touches the sky, and is drawn by reddish horses. As Vata, he is the breath of the gods, goes where he likes, and cannot be seen. He is a healer, who can prolong life. Vayu bestows fame and wealth on his worshippers, disperses or scatters their enemies, and protects the weak. In the Mahabharata, Vayu is the father of Bhima, the second Pandava brother. In the Ramayana, he is known as the father of Hanuman. In the Puranas, he is one of the Dikapalas, the guardian of the north-west.
VENA
A deity menti
oned in both the Rig Veda and the Atharva Veda. In the Atharva, Vena is part of a hymn on creation that begins: ‘Eastward first the prayer was generated: Vena disclosed bright flashes from the summit . . .’ (4.1)
VIDHATR
A Sanskrit word, meaning ‘the creator’. In the Rig Veda, it is both an independent deity, and a name of Dhatr, Indra, and Vishvakarma. In later texts, it is a name of various deities, including of Brahma and Vishnu.
VIRAJ
A Sanskrit term that indicates sovereignty, excellence or splendour. Viraj is often personified as a secondary creator, or is associated with creation. Viraj can be either male or female. According to the Rig Veda (10.90.5) Viraj is born from Purusha, and Purusha in turn from Viraj. In the Atharva Veda, Viraj is a female, identified with a cow, or with Prana, the life breath. In the Mahabharata, Viraj is the name of the primeval being, Purusha, and is at times identified with Shiva or with Vishnu.
The Manu Smriti (1.32) states that Brahma divided his body into two, one male and one female, and from the female, Viraj was born. Viraj then produced Manu Svayambhuva, who in turn created the ten Prajapatis.
VISHNU