Part 9 - Number and Classification of the Vedic Gods

Yāskācārya has given the classification of the deities, in his famous work Nirukta, referring the views of his predecessors:

tisra eva devatā iti nairuktāḥ agniḥ pṛthivīsthāno vāyurvendro vāntarikṣasthānaḥ sūryo dyusthānastāsāṃ māhābhāgyādekaikasyā api bahūni nāmadheyāni bhavantyapi vā karmapṛthaktvādyathā hotādhvaryurbrahmodgātetyapyekasya satoʹpi vā pṛthageva syuḥ/ pṛthagghi stutayo bhavanti tathābhidhānāni/^[1]

According to the expounders of the Vedas, there is triple classification of the divinities. Agni, the Fire god represents the terrestrial class of deities that dwell in the earth; Vāyu or Indra represents the atmospheric region and the gods dwelling in the atmosphere appears as atmospheric or aerial deities. Sūrya, the Sun-god dwells in the celestial region and he represents the entire divinities of that region, who is called the celestial god. As it is seen that the title Hotṛ, Adhvaryu, Brahman and Udgātṛ are applied to a single person due to different application of particular sacrificial office, and the single deity also is glorified with different appellations due to the greatness and diversity of the functions.

The triple classification of the Vedic deities is viewed by Śaunaka also in the Bṛhaddevatā, where he states:

agnirasminnathendrastu madhyato vāyureva ca/
sūryo divīti vijñeyāstisra eveha devatāḥ//^[2]

In the Ṛgvedasaṃhitā, the same classification of the Vedic deities is made. The gods, who are eleven in the sky, eleven on earth and eleven dwellers in the atmosphere, are called to the sacrifice to take their offerings.^[3] There are also found some other Ṛgvedic passages, those stands in support of this.^[4]

The Atharvaveda also divides the gods into triple classification:

ye devā diviṣado antarikṣasadaśca ye ye ceme bhūmyāmadhi.^[5]

In the Ṛgvedasaṃhitā, the deities Sūrya,Vāyu and Agni are directly mentioned as the representative of the three regions and invoked for bestowing protection from the calamities of man from the three regions:

sūryo no divaspātu vātoʹntarikṣāt/
agnirnaḥ pārthivebhyaḥ//^[6]

In this way, in the Vedic texts, the three divinities Agni, Vāyu or Indra and Sūrya representing the three worlds are cited as the supreme divinities. The other divinities are regarded as the result of them.

The three supreme deities appear in different forms due to the supereminence or the divisions of action. Durgācārya in his commentary on the relevant passage of the Nirukta has clarified it by,

tāsāmeva tisṛṇāmagnyādīnā māhābhāgyādaiśvaryayogenaikātmānamanekadhā vikurvatīnāmekaikasyāṃ prativikāraṃ jātavedo vaiśvānaro varuṇo rudro’śvināvuṣā ityeṣamādīni bahuni nāmadheyāni bhavanti pratisthānaṃ svaprakṛtyabhedādaikātmyavadevaikatvaṃ na jahāti sā sā devateti/ api vā karmapṛthaktvāt/ api vaivaṃ vikaraṇadharmitvādabhinnaprakṛtīnāṃ bahunāmatā/ api vā svaṃ svamātmānamavikurvatīnāmevānekakarmayogātpṛthakkarmahetuko nāmadheyalābhaḥ syāt/^[7]

The different qualities and functions of Fire-god or Agni gave birth to different appellations like Jātavedas, Vaiśvānara, Tanūnapāt, etc. Vāyu is worshipped as Indra, Rudra, Mātariśvan, etc., due to its various activities and appellations. Mitra, Varuṇa, Viṣṇu, Pūṣan, Āditya, Bhaga etc. are the appellations of the Sun-god. The different divinities in the Vedic pantheon represent different aspects of the three primary deities and manifest before the universe with individuality.

A large number of gods have been eulogized in the Vedas,^[8] and generally, the number of gods is enumerated as thirty-three;^[9] of which, eleven are considered as terrestrial, eleven are as aerial or atmospheric and eleven are regarded as celestial. Sāyaṇācārya in his commentary on the relevant passage of the Ṛgvedasaṃhitā, clearly states that although the representative gods of the three worlds are three in number, but due to their greatness or varied manifestations they number as thirty three.^[10] The thirty-three gods, frequently mentioned in the Vedas, become double in the Aitareyabrāhmaṇa. There they are divided as Somapā and Asomapā deities. The Somapā deities are mentioned as thirty-three while the Asomapā are again mentioned as thirty three.

The group of Somapā deities in the particular Brāhmaṇa are consisted of eight Vasus, eleven Rudras, twelve Ādityas, Prajāpati and Vaṣaṭkāra and Asomapā gods are eleven Prayājas, eleven Anuyājas and eleven Upayājas:

tryastiṃśat vai devāḥ somapāstrayastriṃśadasomapā/ aṣṭau vasava ekādaśa rudrā dvādaśādityāḥ prajāpatiśca vaṣaṭkāraśca ete devāḥ somapāḥ/ ekādaśa prayājā ekādaśānuyājyā ekādaśopayājā eteʹsomapāḥ paśubhājanāḥ/^[11]

The thirty three number of Somapā gods mentioned in the Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣad include Indra in the list instead of Vaṣaṭkāra.^[12] Again, in the Śatapathabrāhamaṇa, there is an addition and number of the Somapā deities is mentioned as thirty-four. The Somapā deities of the Śatapathabrāhamaṇa are eight Vasus, eleven Rudras, twelve Ādityas, Dyaus and Pṛthivi and Prajāpati.^[13] Here the place of Indra or Vaṣaṭkāra is replaced with the inclusion of two deities Dyaus and Pṛthivī.

The same Brāhmaṇa contains another passage where the deities are enumerated as thirty-three and both the Indra and Prajāpati are substituted for Dyaus and Pṛthivī:

te ekastriṃśadindraścaiva prajāpatiśca tryastiṃśad/^[14]

Moreover, in the Ṛgvedasaṃhitā, the number of the deities is mentioned as three thousand three hundred thirty-three in two contexts.^[15] Thus, different numbers of deities are mentioned in the text. The Atharvavedasaṃhitā admits the three-fold classification according to the abode of the deities and mentions six thousand three hundred thirty-three numbers of demi-gods, i.e. Gandharvas only which is sufficient to indicate a large number of divinities in the Vedic pantheon.^[16]

Besides these, another classification is found made by Mahīdhara on the Vājasaneyisaṃhitā where he divides the deities on the basis of their works and birth, i.e. karmadeva, ‘work gods’ and ājānadevāḥ, i.e. ‘gods by birth.’

Those deities are called karmadevas, who had attained the position of deities by their eminent works and ājānadevas were the deities produced at the beginning of the creation:

agre prathamaṃ martyasya manuṣyasya satastasya puruṣamedhayājinaḥ ājānadevatvaṃ mukhyaṃ devatvaṃ sūryarūpeṇa/ dvividhā devāḥ karmadevā ājānadevāśca/ karmaṇotkṛṣṭena devatvaṃ prāptāḥ karmadevāḥ/ sṛṣṭyādāvutpannā ājānadevāḥ//^[17]

Yāskācārya also mentions about this classification of the Vedic deities in his Nirukta.^[18]

Besides these, some renowned Vedic scholars like Griswold and others have tried their best to classify the deities according to their greatness, gender, etc. In the Vedic texts, the Vedic gods are spoken of as great and small, young and old.^[19] But contradiction occurs among the deities as because two leading deities of two fields for which possess supreme powers above the other divinities of that field forwhy it becomes harder to classify the deities on the basis of their greatness. For example, Indra is mentioned as the mighty warrior or Śatakratu having unbounded force^[20] while Varuṇa is the supreme moral ruler.^[21] It becomes difficult here to find out who is greater one between the two. Both of them are the greatest among the others of their own communities. Such contradiction finds an end with the observation made in the passage, ‘None of you is small or young; you are all great.’^[22] Furthermore, on the basis of the numerical figures or frequency of citation of the names of the deities, the deities can be arranged into five groups—

1. Indra, Agni, Soma;
2. Aśvins, Māruts, Varuṇa;
3. Uṣas, Savitṛ, Bṛhaspati, Sūrya, Pūṣan;
4. Vāyu, Dyāvāpṛthivī, Viṣṇu, Rudra and
5. Yama, Parjanya.^[23]

The deities are again classified according to their gender, i.e. male divinities, called as the gods and the female deities called as the goddesses. Again, the goddesses can be classified as follows—the goddesses having a natural basis like Pṛthivī (earth), Uṣas(dawn), Vāc(speech), Rātri (night), Sarasvatī (the river) etc., Some goddesses are the personifications of some abstract ideas like ila (Nourishment), Dhiṣaṇā (Abundance), etc., and finally, those deities are also worshipped as goddesses in the Vedic pantheon, who are the wives of gods, i.e. Agnāyī (wife of Agni), Indrāṇī (wife of Indra), Varuṇānī (wife of Varuṇa), etc., and so on and so forth.

Besides these, there are some dual divinities in the Vedic pantheon. The dual divinities represent that class of deities where a pair of gods is worshipped conjugally and they look like a one single god. Indeed the dual divinities are the smallest group of gods. Dyāvāpṛthivī, Mitrāvaruṇau, Indrāgnī, Indrā-varuṇau, Indravāyū, Indrāviṣṇū, Naktosāṣā and Aśvinā are the dual deities. There are some group of gods like the Ādityas, Vasus, Rudras, Maruts, the semi divine Angirasas, the lower deities like Ṛbhus, Apsaras and Gandharvas and finally Viśvedevāḥ, i.e. the all gods. All the deities belonging to one single group possess almost same characteristic features but differ from only in some point of view. For example, all the Ādityas are the children of Aditi and they possess almost same characteristics, but vary only in case of their aspects. Besides these, there are special agricultural deities, such as Kṣetrapatih, lord of the field, Urvarā, the deity of the plough land etc. Again a classification can be made among the deities due to certain great functions they share in groups. Parjanya, Varuṇa, Indra, Dyaus, Rudras and the Maruts all participate in the work of rain giving and can be called the rain giving gods; Indra, Trita Aptya, Agni etc. can be called the lightning gods; Rudra and the Maruts, Varuṇa, Soma, the Aśvins, Vāta and the water, etc., are the physician gods.

In this way, in the Vedic pantheon, different classifications of the divinities are made. But of these, the triple classification, done by the ancient scholars on the basis of the regions of the deities is regarded as the most authentic one. From the philosophical point of view also, the matter is looked forth and observation is made that the three primary deities are also the three manifestations only of the one supreme godhead.

One verse says:

indraṃ mitraṃ varuṇamagnimāhuratho divyaḥ sa suparṇo garutmān/
ekaṃ sadviprā bahudhā vadantyagniṃ yamaṃ mātariśvānamāhuḥ//^[24]

In another hymn of the Ṛgvedasaṃhitā, the last pada of each verse goes mahaddevānāmasuratvamekaṃ^[25] which is sufficient to prove the oneness of the divinities. All such implications direct plurality of the divinities behind a single life yielding power and that is none but the one Supreme Soul.^[26]

The single Supreme Soul manifests itself as various forms and these forms are regarded as the individual limbs of that single Soul:

ekasyātmanoʹnye devāḥ pratyaṅgāni bhavanti/¹⁴⁴

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Nirukta, 7.5

[2]:

Bṛhaddevatā, 1.69

[3]:

cf., ye devāso divyekādaśa stha pṛthivyāmadhyekādaśa stha/ apsukṣito mahinaikādaśa stha te devāso

[4]:

cf., ye triṃśati trayasparo devāso barhirāsadan/ vidannaha dvitāsanan// Ibid., 8.28.1 iti stutāso asathā risādaso ye stha trayaśca triṃśacca/ manordevā yajñiyāsaḥ// Ibid., 8.30.2

[5]:

Atharvavedasaṃhitā, 10.9.12

[6]:

Ṛgvedasaṃhitā, 10.158.1

[7]:

Durgācārya on Nirukta, 7.5

[8]:

cf., bhiragne sarathaṃ yāhyarvāṅ nānārathaṃ vā vibhavo hyaśvāḥ/ patnīvatastriṃśataṃ trīṃśca devānanuṣvadhamā vaha mādayasva// Ṛgvedasaṃhitā 3.6.9

trīṇi śatā trī sahasrāṇyagniṃ triṃśacca devā nava cāsaparyan/ aukṣanghṛtairastṛṇanbarhirasmā ādidhotāraṃ nyasādayanta// Ibid.3.9.9

viśvairdevaistribhirekādaśairihādbhirmarudbhirbhṛgubhiḥ sacābhuvā/ ajoṣasā uṣasā sūryeṇa ca somaṃ pibatamaśvinā// Ibid.8.35.3

[9]:

Ibid., 1.34.11; 1.45.2

[10]:

Ibid., 1.139.11

[11]:

Aitareyabrāhmaṇa, 2.18

[12]:

cf., tryastriṃśattveva devā iti/ katame te trayastiṃśadityaṣṭau vasava ekādaśa rudrā dvādaśādityāsta

[13]:

cf., aṣṭau vasavaḥ ekādaśa rudrāḥ dvādaśādityāḥ/ ime eva dyāvāpṛthivī tryastriṃśyau/ tryastriṃśadvai devāḥ/ prajāpatiścatustriṃśaḥ/ Śatapathabrāhmaṇa, 4.5.7.2

[14]:

Ibid., 11.6.3.5

[15]:

cf., trīṇi śatā trī sahasrāṇyagnim triṃśacca devā nava cāsaparyan/ Ṛgvedasaṃhitā, 3.9.9

[16]:

cf., brahmacāriṇaṃ pitaro devajanāḥ pṛthag devā anusaṃyanti sarve/ gandharvā enamanvāyan trayastriṃśat triśatāḥ ṣaṭsahasrāḥ sarvāntsa/ devāṃstapasā piparti// Atharvavedasaṃhitā,11.5.2

[17]:

Mahīdhara on Vājasaneyisaṃhitā, 31.17

[18]:

cf., ekasyātmanoʹnye devāḥ pratyaṅgāni bhavanti/ …karmajanmāna/ ātmajanmānaḥ ātmaivaiṣāṃ

[19]:

cf., namo mahadbhyo namo arbhakebhyo namo yuvabhyo nama āśinebhyaḥ/ Ṛgvedasaṃhitā, 1.27.13

[20]:

cf., purāṃ bhinduryuvā kaviramitaujā ajāyata/Indro viśvasya karmaṇo dhartā vajrī puruṣṭutaḥ// Ibid.,1.11.4

[21]:

cf., kimāga āsa varuṇa jyeṣṭhaṃ yatstotāraṃ jighāṃsasi sakhāyam/pra tanme voco dūḍabha

[22]:

cf., nahi vo astyarbhako devāso na kumārakaḥ/ viśve satomahānta it// Ibid., 8.30.1

[23]:

Vide, Macdonell, A.A.,Vedic Mythology, p. 20

[24]:

Ṛgvedasaṃhitā, 1.164.46

[25]:

Ibid., 3.55

[26]:

cf., tasyātmā bahudhā hi saḥ/ Bṛhaddevatā, 4.143 ekaṃ vā idaṃ hi babhūva sarvam/ Ibid., 8.58.2 māhābhāgyāddevatāyā eka ātmā bahudhā stūyate/ Nirukta, 7.4¹⁴⁴ Ibid.