Thirty-three gods

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Part of Vyomamandala Showing Rudras - Circa 5th Century CE, Katra Keshav Dev; currently at Mathura Museum.

The Thirty-three gods or Tridasha (Sanskrit त्रिदश tridaśa "three times ten") is a pantheon of Hindu deities, of Vedic origin and a few of later development.[1][2] The Samhitas, which are the oldest layer of text in Vedas, enumerate 33 devas,[note 1] either 11 each for the three worlds, or as 12 Adityas, 11 Rudras, 8 Vasus, and 2 Ashvins in the Brahmanas layer of Vedic texts.[6][7] The identity of the 2 Ashvins sometimes varies.[8]

List

The 33 are:

Literature

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad describes the existence of these deities with a different lineup:[9]

Yājñavalkya said, ‘These are but the manifestations of them, but there are only thirty-three gods.’ ‘Which are those thirty-three?’ ‘The eight Vasus, the eleven Rudras and the twelve Ādityas—these are thirty-one, and Indra and Prajāpati make up the thirty-three.’

— Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Section 9, Verse 3.9.2

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The list of Vedic Devas somewhat varies across the manuscripts found in different parts of South Asia, particularly in terms of guides (Aswins) and personified Devas. One list based on Book 2 of Aitereya Brahmana is:[3][4]
    • Devas personified: Indra (Śakra), Varuṇa, Mitra, Aryaman, Bhaga, Aṃśa, Vidhata,[5] Tvāṣṭṛ, Pūṣan, Vivasvat (Surya), Savitṛ (Dhatr), Vishnu.
    • Devas as abstractions or inner principles: Ānanda (bliss, inner contentment), Vijñāna (knowledge), Manas (mind, thought), Prāṇa (life-force), Vāc (speech), Ātmā (Self within each person), and five manifestations of Rudra/Shiva – Īśāna, Tatpuruṣa, Aghora, Vāmadeva, Sadyojāta
    • Devas as forces or principles of nature – Pṛthivī (earth), Agni (fire), Antarikṣa (atmosphere, space), Jal (water), Vāyu (wind), Dyauṣ (sky), Sūrya (sun), Nakṣatra (stars), Soma (moon)
    • Devas as guide or creative energy – Vasatkara, Prajāpati

References

  1. ^ Lynn Foulston, Stuart Abbott (2009). Hindu goddesses: beliefs and practices. pp. 1–2. ISBN 9781902210438.
  2. ^ Mani pp. 654–5
  3. ^ Hermann Oldenberg (1988), The Religion of the Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120803923, pp. 23-50
  4. ^ AA MacDonell, Vedic mythology, p. PA19, at Google Books, Oxford University Press, pp. 19-21
  5. ^ Francis X Clooney (2010), Divine Mother, Blessed Mother, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0199738731, p. 242
  6. ^ George Williams (2008), A Handbook of Hindu Mythology, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195332612, pp. 90, 112
  7. ^ Monier Monier-Williams, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary" Etymologically and Philologically Arranged to cognate Indo-European Languages, Motilal Banarsidass, p. 492
  8. ^ There are eight Vasus, eleven Rudras, twelve Âdityas; and these two, Heaven and Earth, are the (thirty-second and) thirty-third. And there are thirty-three gods, and Pragâpati is the thirty-fourth;--thus he makes him (the sacrificer, or Yagña) to be Pragâpati 2: now that 3 is, for that is immortal, and what is immortal that is. But what is mortal that also is Pragâpati; for Pragâpati is everything: thus he makes him to be Pragâpati, and hence there are these thirty-four utterances, called expiations. Satapatha Brahmana 4:5:7:2 (aṣṭau vasavaḥ | ekādaśa rudrā dvādaśādityā ime eva dyāvāpṛthivī trayastriṃśyau trayastriṃśadvai devāḥ prajāpatiścatustriṃśastadenam prajāpatiṃ karotyetadvā astyetaddhyamṛtaṃ yaddhyamṛtaṃ taddhyastyetadu tadyanmartyaṃ sa eṣa prajāpatiḥ sarvaṃ vai prajāpatistadenam prajāpatiṃ karoti tasmādetāścatustriṃśadvyāhṛtayo bhavanti prāyaścittayo nāma)[1]
  9. ^ www.wisdomlib.org (2015-02-23). "Yajnavalkya and Vidagdha [Section IX]". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
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