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Home , Aryaman, Dyaus, Maruts

Linguistics 051: Proto-Indo-European Language and Society Indo-Iranian Dieties

Rolf Noyer

R!g-Vedic Dieties

R!g-Vedic Dieties There are said to be 33 individual gods (not counting ‘bands’ of gods): 11 each for the three zones of earth, air, and heaven. There is also a group of gods, said to be 40 in number, called Vísvé d"v#$

! Celestial gods 1 (*dieus! ‘sky god’) usually invoked as part of the dual god Dy"v# "- prthiv$ %# (Heaven-and-Earth), killed and ejected from heaven by his old- est son, ; ruling functions transfered to: 2 Váru%a (< etym. connection to Greek Ouranos is now disputed) He established heaven and earth and regulates the universe, upholding cosmic order (rtá! <*h&r-tó-); Connected to Ahura Mazd# in Zoro- astrianism. 3 (*mi-tró-s ‘contract’) God of contracts, associated (as or day) with Varu%a (as darkness or night/evening)

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Varu%a

# Mitra-Varu%a

• The pairing of Mitra and Varu'a is more important than either alone. • They are (divine beings) who possess m#y# & (occult power); • Together they are rulers and guardians of the whole world who uphold the order of the universe. • Mitra and (( Ahura Mazd") are represented in Zoroastrianism, so these gods are old.

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The Aditya

• Both Mitra and Varu'a are sons of a goddess ‘Freedom’ (< *n$- dh)-t-i- ‘unbound’ <*deh) ‘bound’), a group called the Aditya • The Aditya also includes , (<*b*agos), A'(a, Dak)a • The Adityas are sometimes equated with Zoroastrian Am*)a Sp*%ta (the Life-Giving Immortals)

% Celestial Gods (cont.)

4 S+ry# (*sh&ul-i$ eh! & ‘sun’): goddess of the Sun 5 ! (*seu!H-tr- ‘stimulator, generator’, cf. s+nú, ‘son’ < *suH-n(e)ú-) god of Stimulation: golden and radiant 6 P+)an (< *pou!s- ‘to thrive’, an Indo-Iranian root) Observer of the universe, transporter of the dead, guardian of prosperi- ty and associated with travel. He moves in a goat-drawn and marries the daughter of S+ry" (the Sun). A connection to Greek Pan is disputed.

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S+ry#

' Celestial Gods (cont.) 7 The (two) A(vins (*éku- !-in- ‘horsemen’) or A(vin# Inseparable twin Horseman gods, invoked to relieve distress, conected with celestial light and representing half-light, half-dark; sons of Dyaus, they marry the Sun (S+ry"). 8 U)as (*h&eu!s-o-s ‘dawn’): goddess of Dawn, daughter of Dyaus, and sis- ter of R"tr# %, goddess of the night. They are paired as a dual divinity U)#s& #-nákt# or Nákto)#s& # 9 R#tr, (Night): sister of U.as (Dawn) 10 Aptya (‘Third in the Water’ for the third form of /re, lightning) 11M#tari(van: Indian ‘Prometheus’, who stole /re from the gods and gave it to humanity (

A(vins

)* Atmospheric Gods

1 Indra: god of thunder and of battle; most human-like of all the Gods, has superhuman strength and power parallels to Greek demi-god Herak- les/Hercules. 2 Ap#'& náp#t: (*h&ep-oHom *nep0t ‘grandson/nephew’ ‘of the waters’) Son of the Waters, an Indo-Iranian god 3 : (*rud-ró-s < *reu!d-H- ‘to cry, weep’) Father of the , often noisy and wrathful and complaining; re- placed by -ivá in later

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Indra

)! Atmospheric Gods (cont.)

4 Marutas (Maruts): a warrior band of brothers, always mentioned as a group 5 Parjánya: god of Rain and the Rain-cloud 6 V#ta (*u!éh)-t-os < *u!eh) ‘to blow’): God of the (noisy) Wind; the breath of the gods, also called (or paired with) V#yú (*u!éh)-iu-).! 7 .pas (*h&ep-os):1# The Waters, usually represented as mothers

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Chthonic/Terrestrial/Earth gods 1 (*h)egni-s): god of /re; along with he is a dei/ed part of the ritual sacri/ce (yajña < *Hiag! --n-os) 2 Soma: (*seu!-mo-s) God of the Soma plant and its juice; the juice is of- ten called mádhu ‘sweet’ (< *méd!u ‘MEAD’ < OE medu) 3 Prthiv! ,:& Earth goddess, usually in the pairing Dy"v# "-prthiv$ %,# a dual compound meaning Heaven-Earth (Dyaus, P$rthiv%). 4 Various river goddesses: Sarasvat,, a river in northern India, the most important Sindhu (= ‘Indus’ River), Vip#( and -utudr, (tributaries of the Panj"b) )# Agni

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Other Figures Yamá: Ruler of the Dead whose sister is Yam%. He is the ‘only mortal’, the /rst to die and the Father of Humanity. They are equivalent to Zoroas- trian Yima and Yimeh; Yima may be equated with the Norse Ymir. Ví)%u: much less important in RV than in later Hinduism: god of ‘3 steps’ Brhas-páti!& , also called Bráhma%as-páti, ‘Lord of Prayer’: an Indic god Púru)a: the Primal Human: a giant whose body was carved up to create the material universe, not mentioned in any early books Pitáras: The Fathers, blessed dead who dwell in the third heaven (Vi.'u’s third ‘step’)

)% Creation Hymn

• Much is asserted as unknown • F/rst there was non-existence (ásat) from which existence (sat) evolved. • Water was the /rst material product; • Heat () then changed water into desire (k#ma& ) and intelligence or mind (mánas)

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