Rigvedic deities
There are 1000 hymns in the Rigveda, most of them dedicated to specific deities. Indra, a god, slayer of Vritra and destroyer of the Vala, liberator of the cows and the rivers; Agni the sacrificial fire and messenger of the gods; and Soma, the ritual drink dedicated to Indra, are the most prominent deities.
Deities by prominence
List of Rigvedic deities by a number of dedicated hymns, after Griffith (1888). Some dedications are to paired deities, such as Indra-Agni, Mitra-Varuna, Soma-Rudra, here counted double. Vishvadevas (all gods together) have been invoked 70 times.
- Indra 289
- Agni (Fire) 218
- Soma 123 (most of them in the Soma Mandala)
- Ishwara (Supreme god) 118
- The Asvins 56
- Varuna (Sea) 46 [1]
- the Maruts 38
- Mitra 28[1]
- Ushas 21
- Vayu (Wind) 12
- Savitr 11
- the Rbhus 11
- Pushan 10
- the Apris 9
- Brhaspati 8
- Surya (Sun) 8
- Dyaus and Prithivi (Heaven and Earth) 6, plus 5.84 dedicated to Earth alone
- Apas (Waters) 6
- Adityas 6
- Vishnu 6
- Brahmanaspati 6
- Rudra 5
- Dadhikras 4
- Yama (Death) 4
- the Sarasvati River / Sarasvati 3
- Parjanya (Rain) 3
- Vāc (Speech) 2 (mentioned 130 times, deified e.g. in 10.125)
- Vastospati 2
- Vishvakarman 2
- Manyu 2
- Kapinjala (the Heathcock, a form of Indra) 2
Minor deities (one single or no dedicated hymn)
- Manas (Thought), prominent concept, deified in 10.58
- Dakshina (Reward for priests and poets), prominent concept, deified in 10.107
- Purusha ("Cosmic Man" of the Purusha sukta 10.90)
- Aditi
- Bhaga
- Vasukra
- Atri
- Apam Napat
- Ksetrapati
- Ghrta
- Nirrti
- Asamati
- Urvasi
- Pururavas
- Vena
- Aranyani
- Mayabheda
- Tarksya
- Tvastar
- Saranyu
See also
References
- Noel Seth,"Man's Relation to God in the Varuna Hymns," in the St. Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India, Ed. George Menachery, Vol.III, 2010, pp.4 ff.
- Ralph T.H. Griffith, Hymns of the Rigveda (1888).
- Rudralife
External links
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.