Vedic Gods and Godessess

AGNI.- The god of the sacred fire and also the fire itself; as such, he is also the messenger of the gods. Immortal, but ever-young as his fire is renewed every
day. Represented as red and two-faced, with black eyes and hair, three legs and seven arms. Seven rays of light emanate from his body. Called the Minister of Sacrifice, the Invoker. Twin brother of Indra and second most important Vedic
god.

ASHVINS. The twin horsemen, sons of Surya; they symbolize the light of dawn and sunset, appearing in a golden chariot and averting misfortune. They are the doctors of gods and patrons of Ayurvedic medicine.

DEVAS and ASURAS. The two ?families? of deities, similar to the Norse asatru and vanir. Early on, the asuras are not demonic.
DYAUS PITAR. Sky Father. Husband of Prithvi (Earth) and father of Agni(Fire) and Indra. Can appear as a red bull thunderously bellowing, or as a black horse bedecked with pearls (representing the sky with stars.) His name evolved
into various god-names such as zeus, theos, deus, deity, etc.

INDRA. Powerful, heroic god, lord of weather and warfare. Chief of the pantheon of Vedic deities. He is fond of the sacred soma drink, and is known for smashing stone fortresses to liberate his friends. Not much worshipped in modern-day
India, however; he was humiliated by Krishna in an old pro-Krishna story,showing the importance of the ?new gods? in later times.

MARUTS / RUDRAS. A group of violent storm gods, up to sixty in number, sons of Rudra and attendants to Indra. Aggressive, armed with golden thunderbolts and driving golden chariots.

MITRA. Patron god of honesty, friendship, contracts, oaths and meetings. An important deity in the Rig Veda, closely connected with VARUNA. Part of a group of solar deities, the Adityas, keepers of order and law (dharma, divine order, originally known as rta). His name carried over to the Zoroastrians of Iran
and later into the Roman Empire as MITHRA.

RUDRA. Literally, the ?Howler.? God of the storm, wind, nature, hunting and death. Shoots arrows which cause disease. He may be an early incarnation of Siva, as ?Rudra? is also one of Siva?s names.

SOMA. God of the sacred ritual drink of the same name. The soma was an important part of Vedic ritual, and many hymns exist to it; scholars today are still unsure exactly what plant or drink it represented. In Zoroastrianism, it is
Haoma. The word means pressed, as in pressing stalks of a plant to get the juice out. Like the sacred amrita (nectar of the gods), which became in Greek ambrosia, it was the divine food/drink that gave the gods their power. A hymn
reads, ?We have drunk the Soma and become immortal, we have attained the light, the Gods revealed.? Later became a moon god associated with Chandra, since the moon was the cup from which the gods drank the soma.

SURYA / SAVITUR. The personification of the Sun, chief solar deity and chief of the seven Adityas (solar gods.) Hair and arms of gold, with a chariot pulled by seven horses said to symbolize the seven chakras. Worshipped at dawn with the
solar salutation (Surya namaskara), consisting of mantras and ten yogic postures. Also associated with the Gayatri Mantra.

VARUNA. God of the dark half of the sky, rain, and the celestial ocean; also keeper of the divine order (dharma) and the underworld. Also god of the ?dark half? of the Sun (during its nightly course under the earth.)

VAYU / VATA / PRANA. The deity of wind, breath and life (in as much as the breath evidences life.) The word came into Latin as vita meaning ?life.?

USHAS. The Dawn, the most prominent goddess of the Rig Veda. Beautiful and auspicious daughter of Dyaus.

YAMA / YAMARAJA. The first mortal who died and entered into the
Otherworld, thus becoming Lord of Death and of the Dead. Depicted with green or red skin, red clothes, and riding a water buffalo; he holds a noose with which he pulls the spirit from the corpse. In Buddhism, he becomes a Judge of the Dead. Also found in Zoroastrian and other mythologies.

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