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The Religion of the Veda

end the later Vedic texts insist that Agni, "Fire" belongs to, or is typical of the earth; Vāta or Vāyu, "Wind," of the mid-air, and Sūrya, "Sun," of the sky.[1] So far it is the philosophy of the obvious. They continue cleverly along that line in the following arrangement. I state only the more important members of each class:

Celestial gods: Dyaus or Dyaush Pitar ("Sky" or "Father Sky"), Varuna, Mitra. Sūrya and the Ādityas, Savitar, Pūshan, Vishnu, Ushas, and the Açvins.[2]

Atmospheric gods: Vāta or Vāyu ("Wind") Indra, Parjanya, Rudra, and the Maruts.

Terrestrial gods: Prithivī ("Earth"), Agni, and Soma.

This threefold division, in order to be consistent, would have to be carried on to the end, so as to include all the gods. As a matter of fact it is uncertain in many places, even when carried no farther. We are not so certain as are the Hindus that Indra, for instance, is a god of the mid-air,[3] even though we must admire this, on the whole successful, appreciation of the place in nature that belongs to a goodly proportion of the chief gods.

  1. ↑ Cf. Brihaddevatā 1. 5 ff.
  2. ↑ See the index at the end of this book for these and most of the following gods.
  3. ↑ See below, p. 173.
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