Who are Vedic Gods?
The first impression that one gets after reading Vedas is that Vedic people revered Gods such as Indra, Agni, Varun, Vayu, Ushas, Surya, Rudra, Kuber, Pushan etc. While that is true, the four Vedas point to one overwhelming fact that it is the Brahman (ब्रह्मन्) - one that goes beyond the purview of temporality, one that is eternal and the source of everything.
The Vedas are the oldest sacred texts and are still studied and followed today.
They are also the richest and most comprehensive body of texts that over the centuries have inspired scholars to
interpret their true meaning.
A common question that always pops up in the minds of readers is 'Who are Vedic Gods?'.
The first impression that one gets after reading Vedas is that the Gods being praised are Gods like Indra, Agni, Varun, Vayu, Ushas, Surya, Rudra, Kuber, Pushan etc. Vedas are full of hymns praising these Gods. All these Gods are connected to natural phenomena that we observe in nature. These are the Gods which a human being can feel and experience as they all symbolize some physical events and entities.
Agni is the second most important god of Rigveda. He is the god of fire & sacrifice. He is considered to be an intermediary between gods and men. 200 hymns have been devoted to Agni in Rigveda while Agni is mentioned in 218 hymns.
Soma is the god of the soma plant, which was used in religious ceremonies. Soma was prepared by extracting juice from the stalks of a certain plant, and the Soma god is god of the plants. 123 hymns are dedicated to Soma.
Rudra is the god of wind & storm. The name Rudra appears in the Shiva Sahasranama, and it is used as a name of Shiva in later compositions. 5 hymns are dedicated to Rudra.
Vishnu is the preserver of the universe. Vishnu is mentioned 93 times in the Rigveda and 6 hymns are deicated to Vishnu
Varun is a deity associated initially with the sky, later also with the seas. 46 hymns are dedicated to Varun.
The Ashvins (aka Asvins, Asvinau, or Asvini Kumaras) are two twin brothers of Hindu mythology, sons of the sun god Surya. The two brothers are forever youthful, handsome, brilliant, golden, fast, and athletic. They are considered the physicians of the gods. 56 hymns are dedicated to The Asvins.
Mitra is the god of friendship & alliance. 28 hymns are dedicated to Mitra.
Surya and Pushan are solar deities. There are 8 hymns dedicated to Surya and 10 to Pushan
Vayu is a deity associated Air and wind. There are 12 hymns dedicated to Vayu.
Yama: Yama is considered to have been the first mortal who died and espied the way to the celestial abodes, and in virtue of precedence, he became the ruler of the departed. He is the guardian of the world of dead. His twin sister is Yami and both Yama and Yami are children of Surya. 4 hymns are dedicated to Yama.
Other Gods mentioned and hymns dedicated to them are the Maruts with 38 hymns, Savitr with 11 hymns, the Rbhus with 11 hymns, the Apris with 9 hymns, Brhaspati with 8 hymns; Dyaus and Prithvi (Heaven and Earth) with 6 hymns; Apas (Waters) with 6 hymns, Adityas with 6 hymns, Brahmanaspati with 6 hymns, Dadhikras with 4 hymns and Parjanya (Rain) with 3 hymns
There are frequent references of River Saraswati in Vedic literature (80 times more than that of River Ganges). Vedic Saraswati is described as `Best of Mothers, Best of Rivers, Best of Goddesses`. The goddess referred to in Rigveda is Saraswati. She is the goddess of learning, music, and art. Saraswati is often depicted as a beautiful woman, wearing white clothes and seated on a lotus flower. There are 3 hymns dedicated to Saraswati.
Another Rigveda goddess is Apsaras. She is the goddess of beauty, grace, and charm. Apsaras are often depicted as beautiful women with long flowing hair.
Aditi and Aryani are two other Rigvedic goddesses. Aditi is the goddess of space and time, and Aryani is the goddess of love and fertility.
The first impression that one gets after reading Vedas is that the Gods being praised are Gods like Indra, Agni, Varun, Vayu, Ushas, Surya, Rudra, Kuber, Pushan etc. Vedas are full of hymns praising these Gods. All these Gods are connected to natural phenomena that we observe in nature. These are the Gods which a human being can feel and experience as they all symbolize some physical events and entities.
Vedic Gods
The main god of Rigveda is Indra. He is the chief God during the Rig Vedic age. He is also known as the King of Gods & Lord of heaven. Indra is worshipped as a rain God and God of East direction. Indra was the most important divinity and is lord of war. 250 hymns have been devoted to only Indra in Rigveda.Agni is the second most important god of Rigveda. He is the god of fire & sacrifice. He is considered to be an intermediary between gods and men. 200 hymns have been devoted to Agni in Rigveda while Agni is mentioned in 218 hymns.
Soma is the god of the soma plant, which was used in religious ceremonies. Soma was prepared by extracting juice from the stalks of a certain plant, and the Soma god is god of the plants. 123 hymns are dedicated to Soma.
Rudra is the god of wind & storm. The name Rudra appears in the Shiva Sahasranama, and it is used as a name of Shiva in later compositions. 5 hymns are dedicated to Rudra.
Vishnu is the preserver of the universe. Vishnu is mentioned 93 times in the Rigveda and 6 hymns are deicated to Vishnu
Varun is a deity associated initially with the sky, later also with the seas. 46 hymns are dedicated to Varun.
The Ashvins (aka Asvins, Asvinau, or Asvini Kumaras) are two twin brothers of Hindu mythology, sons of the sun god Surya. The two brothers are forever youthful, handsome, brilliant, golden, fast, and athletic. They are considered the physicians of the gods. 56 hymns are dedicated to The Asvins.
Mitra is the god of friendship & alliance. 28 hymns are dedicated to Mitra.
Surya and Pushan are solar deities. There are 8 hymns dedicated to Surya and 10 to Pushan
Vayu is a deity associated Air and wind. There are 12 hymns dedicated to Vayu.
Yama: Yama is considered to have been the first mortal who died and espied the way to the celestial abodes, and in virtue of precedence, he became the ruler of the departed. He is the guardian of the world of dead. His twin sister is Yami and both Yama and Yami are children of Surya. 4 hymns are dedicated to Yama.
Other Gods mentioned and hymns dedicated to them are the Maruts with 38 hymns, Savitr with 11 hymns, the Rbhus with 11 hymns, the Apris with 9 hymns, Brhaspati with 8 hymns; Dyaus and Prithvi (Heaven and Earth) with 6 hymns; Apas (Waters) with 6 hymns, Adityas with 6 hymns, Brahmanaspati with 6 hymns, Dadhikras with 4 hymns and Parjanya (Rain) with 3 hymns
Vedic Goddesses
The main goddess of Rigveda is Ushas. She is the goddess of dawn, and her name means “light” or “day”. She is also known as the daughter of Dyaus (the sky god) and Prithvi (the earth goddess). Ushas is often depicted as a beautiful woman, riding in a chariot drawn by horses or cows. There are 21 hymns dedicated to Ushas.There are frequent references of River Saraswati in Vedic literature (80 times more than that of River Ganges). Vedic Saraswati is described as `Best of Mothers, Best of Rivers, Best of Goddesses`. The goddess referred to in Rigveda is Saraswati. She is the goddess of learning, music, and art. Saraswati is often depicted as a beautiful woman, wearing white clothes and seated on a lotus flower. There are 3 hymns dedicated to Saraswati.
Another Rigveda goddess is Apsaras. She is the goddess of beauty, grace, and charm. Apsaras are often depicted as beautiful women with long flowing hair.
Aditi and Aryani are two other Rigvedic goddesses. Aditi is the goddess of space and time, and Aryani is the goddess of love and fertility.
Journey from visible to invisible
So, were the Vedic people curious about the natural events like rain, lightening, wind, rising of Sun every day?
Were they in awe of these natural phenomena? Is that the reason they personified these events as Gods?
The answer is Yes and No.
Yes, because they believed that these events cannot happen on their own and there is a force behind them which regulate them all. Hence they attributed each of these phenomenon to various Gods.
No, because there is more to it than meets the eye. When we call Indra, Agni, Vayu, Varun, Earth etc. as the only Gods in Vedas, we are overlooking overwhelming messages which say
The following verse (ṛc) appears in Rigveda, Atharvaveda and Yajurveda with some minor variations. But gives the same message.
One more verse (ṛc) from Rigveda is unequivocal about this fact.
And there are hundreds of lines in the four Vedas which point to this one eternal fact that there is no one else other than Him who rules this world. He is the Brahman (ब्रह्मन्) – one that goes beyond the purview of temporality, one that is eternal and the source of everything.
Brahman is omnipresent, in the realm of materiality, penetrating the whole of reality as the essence that provides the structure, meaning and existence to everything, and yet, Brahma is the transcendent origin of all these things.
Thus, Brahman is said to be panentheistic (pan (all) - en (in) - theistic (God)).
Brahman is primeval and the only reality that truly exists. Everything else is just a contingent transformation of Brahma, or substitute of the attributive dependence on Brahma.
But if this is the case and if Vedas point to Brahma (ब्रह्म) as the ultimate goal that one should seek then why Vedas are full of praise for other deities? Why did they not praise and seek Brahma directly instead of praising these Gods?
Pandit Shripad Damodar Satvalekar gives a beautiful analogy to explain the reason behind this in his book Atharvaved Brahmavidya Prakaran and it goes like this.
When you meet your friend and greet him, do you greet his soul or his body?
You cannot see his soul, you cannot touch his soul. So how can you greet it?
If you give it some thought, you will realize that you greet his body.
If you really believe that you greet his body, think one more time.
Would you greet if you see his dead body? Would you say hello to his soulless body?
The answer is 'No'.
Confused? The fact here is that physical body and organs are physical entities and we can touch and see them. Life is invisible but you can still experience it through breathing (respiration) of a person. Mind, wisdom are also invisible. However, one can still relate to mind and wisdom through an individual's acts and deeds. But soul remains invisible all the time.
Life is situated midway between Visible and Invisible, it connects macro (visible) to subtle (invisible).
People unaware of this logic will typically belive that they greet the physical and visible body.
But people who understand this concept well would greet their friends with this understanding of Life situated within the body.
An important aspect that needs to be understood here is that till the soul does not manifest itself in to a physical entity/reality, it is not possible to experience it. It is necessary to have a medium called body to reach one's soul.
The physical entity is only for the namesake. But it is a necessary medium to reach the invisible (अदृश्य) and indirect (अप्रत्यक्ष).
In the same way, to reach Brahma, who is invisible (अदृश्य) and indirect (अप्रत्यक्ष), there has to be a medium which is visible and experiential. As we can not see Brahma directly, he can only be experienced through visible media and probably through 'larger than life' things like Sun's radiance and heat, the gusty winds during hurricanes and typhoons and the powerful rivers and the vastness of the universe that we know today.
These physical entities are the media which we have with us to seek Him.
This is exactly what Vedic people may have thought. They praised those who are 'visible' in order to reach the one who is 'invisible' and 'indirect'.
They praised Indra, Agni, Varun, Vayu and others as media to reach that Supreme Being - The Brahman (ब्रह्मन्), The Paramatma (परमात्मा).
Yes, because they believed that these events cannot happen on their own and there is a force behind them which regulate them all. Hence they attributed each of these phenomenon to various Gods.
No, because there is more to it than meets the eye. When we call Indra, Agni, Vayu, Varun, Earth etc. as the only Gods in Vedas, we are overlooking overwhelming messages which say
'भुवनस्य एक एव पतिः'
There is only one Lord of this universe
'एक एव नमस्य'
He is the only one to bow down to
'विक्षु ईड्यः'
He is the only one worthy of praise in this entire world
The following verse (ṛc) appears in Rigveda, Atharvaveda and Yajurveda with some minor variations. But gives the same message.
यो नः पिता जनिता यो विधाता धामानि वेद भुवनानि विश्वा ।
यो देवानां नामधाSएकSएव तं सं प्रश्नं भुवना यन्त्यन्या ॥ १०.८२.३ ॥
He who is our father (who gave birth to us), who produced everything in this universe, who is the creator and who blesses based on ones' deeds, who knows all things existing in this world.
He is the one who goes by the names of all deities, he is the only one worth knowing/seeking and where other beings take refuge.
यो देवानां नामधाSएकSएव तं सं प्रश्नं भुवना यन्त्यन्या ॥ १०.८२.३ ॥
He who is our father (who gave birth to us), who produced everything in this universe, who is the creator and who blesses based on ones' deeds, who knows all things existing in this world.
He is the one who goes by the names of all deities, he is the only one worth knowing/seeking and where other beings take refuge.
One more verse (ṛc) from Rigveda is unequivocal about this fact.
इन्द्रं मित्रं वरुणमग्निमाहुरथो दिव्यः स सुपर्णो गरुत्मान्।
एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्त्यग्निं यमं मातरिश्वानमाहुः॥ १.१६४.४६ ॥
एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्त्यग्निं यमं मातरिश्वानमाहुः॥ १.१६४.४६ ॥
Wise people address God in various ways. He is called as Indra (due to his riches and prosperity),
Mitra (as he is a benefactor), Varun (due to his eminence), and Agni (due to his resplendence)
He is magnificent, the controller of this world and the only God (परमात्मा).
He is magnificent, the controller of this world and the only God (परमात्मा).
And there are hundreds of lines in the four Vedas which point to this one eternal fact that there is no one else other than Him who rules this world. He is the Brahman (ब्रह्मन्) – one that goes beyond the purview of temporality, one that is eternal and the source of everything.
Brahman is omnipresent, in the realm of materiality, penetrating the whole of reality as the essence that provides the structure, meaning and existence to everything, and yet, Brahma is the transcendent origin of all these things.
Thus, Brahman is said to be panentheistic (pan (all) - en (in) - theistic (God)).
Brahman is primeval and the only reality that truly exists. Everything else is just a contingent transformation of Brahma, or substitute of the attributive dependence on Brahma.
But if this is the case and if Vedas point to Brahma (ब्रह्म) as the ultimate goal that one should seek then why Vedas are full of praise for other deities? Why did they not praise and seek Brahma directly instead of praising these Gods?
Pandit Shripad Damodar Satvalekar gives a beautiful analogy to explain the reason behind this in his book Atharvaved Brahmavidya Prakaran and it goes like this.
When you meet your friend and greet him, do you greet his soul or his body?
You cannot see his soul, you cannot touch his soul. So how can you greet it?
If you give it some thought, you will realize that you greet his body.
If you really believe that you greet his body, think one more time.
Would you greet if you see his dead body? Would you say hello to his soulless body?
The answer is 'No'.
Confused? The fact here is that physical body and organs are physical entities and we can touch and see them. Life is invisible but you can still experience it through breathing (respiration) of a person. Mind, wisdom are also invisible. However, one can still relate to mind and wisdom through an individual's acts and deeds. But soul remains invisible all the time.
Life is situated midway between Visible and Invisible, it connects macro (visible) to subtle (invisible).
An important aspect that needs to be understood here is that till the soul does not manifest itself in to a physical entity/reality, it is not possible to experience it. It is necessary to have a medium called body to reach one's soul.
The physical entity is only for the namesake. But it is a necessary medium to reach the invisible (अदृश्य) and indirect (अप्रत्यक्ष).
In the same way, to reach Brahma, who is invisible (अदृश्य) and indirect (अप्रत्यक्ष), there has to be a medium which is visible and experiential. As we can not see Brahma directly, he can only be experienced through visible media and probably through 'larger than life' things like Sun's radiance and heat, the gusty winds during hurricanes and typhoons and the powerful rivers and the vastness of the universe that we know today.
These physical entities are the media which we have with us to seek Him.
This is exactly what Vedic people may have thought. They praised those who are 'visible' in order to reach the one who is 'invisible' and 'indirect'.
They praised Indra, Agni, Varun, Vayu and others as media to reach that Supreme Being - The Brahman (ब्रह्मन्), The Paramatma (परमात्मा).