| Name ▲▼ | Origin ▲▼ | Description ▲▼ |
|---|---|---|
| Demon name "Matsya" | Hindu / Epic / Puranic | Incarnation of the god VIS'NU. In this first avatara Vis'nu appears as a fish which, according to one legend, tows a ship carrying the law-giver MANU to safety after the primal flood. Matsya engages in an epic battle with the demon HAYAGRIVA who stole the Vedas from a sleeping BRAHMA. Usually depicted with a human torso carrying symbols, e.g. wheel and conch, on a fish's body.... |
| Goddess name "Nirrti (destruction)" | Hindu / Vedic / Puranic | (1) Destructive goddess of darkness. Known chiefly from the Rg-veda, Nirrti has a generally malignant aspect and is åśśociated with pain, misfortune and death. She is believed to live in the south (the land of the dead). She is dark-skinned, wears dark dress and receives the dark husks of sacrifice. She is feared by many Hindus, whose offerings are frequent and repeated. In later Hinduism, Nirrti changes sex and becomes a dikpala god of terrifying appearance, guarding the southwestern quarter; he has various consorts including Davi, Kalika and Krsnangi. He stands upon a lion, a man or a corpse. Attributes: javelin, shield, staff, sword and teeth.(2) God. Buddhist. A dikpala or guardian. Color: blue. Stands upon a corpse. Attributes: shield and sword.... |
| God name "Om" | India | A Sanscrit word, somewhat similar to Amen. When the gods are asked to rejoice in a sacrifice, the god Savitri cries out Om (Be it so). When Pravahan is asked if his father has instructed him, he answers Om (Verily). Brahmins begin and end their lessons on the Veda with the word Om, for "unless Om precedes his lecture, it will be like water on a rock, which cannot be gathered up; and unless it concludes the lecture, it will bring forth no fruit." |
| God name "Parjanya (rain giver)" | Hindu / Vedic | God of Rain. Became replaced by, or syncretized with, INDRA in later Hinduism, but in the Vedas he is seen as a god of gentle, fructifying Rain. May be regarded as an ADITYA.... |
| Goddess name "Prsni" | Hindu / Vedic | Primordial earth goddess. The socalled dappled cow of the Rg Veda. She is also perceived as the brightly colored soma stalk and is linked with a male counterpart, also Prsni, the dappled bull of the Sun.... |
| God name "Rbhus (skilful)" | Hindu / Vedic | Sun gods. Identified in the Rg Veda as the craftsmen of the gods and linked with the Maruts. They are led by INDRA.... |
| Demon name "Sankhasura" | Hindu | A demon who warred against the gods, stole the Vedas and hid them at the bottom of the sea. They were rescued by Vishnu in the form of a fish. Hindu |
| Goddess name "Sarama (the nimble one)" | Hindu / Vedic, Epic / Puranic | Attendant goddess. She acts as a messenger to the god INDRA and guards his herds. In later Hindu texts Sarama is reputedly the mother of all dogs and is given the epithet the bitch of heaven. The Rg Veda accounts her as having punished the minor deity Panis for stealing cows.... |
| Goddess name "Sarasvati" | Hindu | A sacred river in the Vedas, and as a river goddess she was often invoked to bestow vitality, renown. She is described as moving along a golden path and destroying the demon Vritra. Hindu |
| Goddess name "Sindhu" | Hindu / Vedic | River goddess. Identified only in the Rg Veda and of unknown source.... |
| Deities name "Sura" | Hindu | Originally solar deities. Used in the Vedas for gods in general, equivalent to devas. Hindu |
| Deities name "Trayastrinsa (the thirty-three)" | Hindu / Vedic | Collective name for the group of deva gods. One of the many lists of deities in Hinduism, this one is contained in the Rg Veda and includes thirty-three names divided into three groups of eleven in each of the three worlds. Subsequently, the DEVAS were separated into eight VASUS, twelve ADITYAS, eleven RUDRAS and two ASVINS. In later Hinduism the number thirty-three is increased hyperbolically to 330 million and deva refers to gods excluding the major triad of BRAHMA, V ISNU and SIVA.... |
| God name "Trita (Aptya)" | Hindu / Vedic | God(dess). Known from the Rg Veda. An obscure form of Indra with strong water attributes. Also Aptya.... |
| Goddess name "Usas" | Hindu / Vedic | Goddess of the dawn. The daughter of Dyaus and, according to some texts, the consort of the Sun god SURYA. An auspicious deity, Usas brings the dawn, heralding Surya, and drives away darkness. She is the all-seeing eye of the gods. In the Rg Veda she is depicted as a beautiful young virginal figure who rides in a hundred chariots. She sets all things in motion and can render strength and fame to her devotees. In addition to being perceived as a sky goddess, she is also drawn as a mother goddess in the guise of a cow. Epithets include mother of the gods and mother of cows. She is invoked to give the boon of longevity, but a more malignant aspect reveals her as a huntress who wastes human life. Usas sometimes enjoys a domestic worship as a guardian hearth goddess who drives away darkness and evil spirits. She disappears, however, from the later traditions of Hinduism.... |
| Goddess name "Ushas" | Sanskrit | Sanskrit for "dawn", is a Vedic deity. She is the chief goddess, sometimes imagined as several goddesses, Dawns, exalted in the Rig Veda. She is portrayed as a beautifully adorned, sexually attractive young woman riding in a chariot. She is the daughter of Dyaus "Heaven". |
| Goddess name "Vac (speech)" | Hindu / Vedic | Goddess of the spoken word. In some texts she is a daughter of DAKSA and consort of KASYAPA. Alternatively she is the daughter of Ambhrna. Also known by the epithet queen of the gods, Vac is the personification of the phenomenon of speech and oral communication. She gives the boon of hearing, speech and sight and she can lead a man to become a Brahman. She also personifies truth and sustains somathe liquid essence of vision and immortality. She is said to have created the four Vedas, the basis of the earliest Hindu mythology.... |
| Deity name "Vasudhara" | Nepal | Popular in Nepal, where she is a common household deity. She is one of the Vasus mentioned in the Rig Veda. |
| God name "Vata" | Hindu / Vedic / / Persian / Iran | God of wind. The name appears in the Rg Veda as a deity of violent personality. According to Asvestan tradition the god of victory, VERETHRAGNA, appeared to Zarathustra in the guise of Vata.... |
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