Dyaus
Dyaus | |
---|---|
Member of Thirty-three gods | |
Other names | Akasha |
Devanagari | द्यौस् |
Affiliation | Deva, Pancha Bhuta |
Abode | Dyuloka, Sky (ākāśa, आकाश) |
Symbol | Zebu bull |
Texts | Rigveda |
Consort | Prithvi |
Offspring | Indra, Surya, Ushas, the Rigvedic deities |
Equivalents | |
Greek | Uranus (Functional equivalent) Zeus (mainly etymological)[1] |
Indo-European | *Dyēus |
Norse | Odin (as the Father of the gods) |
Roman | Caelus (Functional equivalent) Jupiter (mainly etymological) |
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Dyaus (Vedic Sanskrit: द्यौस्, IAST: Dyáus) or Dyauspitr (Vedic Sanskrit: द्यौष्पितृ, IAST: Dyáuṣpitṛ́) is the Rigvedic sky god. His consort is Prithvi, the earth goddess, and together they are the archetypal parents in the Rigveda.[2]
Nomenclature
[edit]Dyauṣ stems from Proto-Indo-Iranian *dyā́wš, from the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) daylight-sky god *Dyēus, and is cognate with the Greek Διας – Zeus Patēr, Illyrian Dei-pátrous, and Latin Jupiter (from Old Latin Dies Piter, Deus patēr), stemming from the PIE Dyḗus ph₂tḗr ("Daylight-sky Father").[3]
The noun dyaús (when used without the pitṛ́ 'father') refers to the daylight sky, and occurs frequently in the Rigveda, as an entity. The sky in Vedic writing was described as rising in three tiers, avamá, madhyamá, uttamá.[4]
Literature
[edit]Dyáuṣ Pitṛ́ appears in hymns with Prithvi Mata 'Mother Earth' in the ancient Vedic scriptures of Hinduism.[5]
In the Ṛg·veda, Dyáuṣ Pitṛ́ appears in verses 1.89.4, 1.90.7, 1.164.33, 1.191.6, 4.1.10. and 4.17.4[6] He is also referred to under different theonyms: Dyavaprithvi, for example, is a dvandva compound combining 'heaven' and 'earth' as Dyauṣ and Prithvi.
Dyauṣ and Prithvi's most defining trait is his and her paternal and maternal role.[7] His and Prithvi's daughter, Uṣas, is the goddess of the dawn.[8] The gods and goddesses, especially Sūrya, is the god of the sun, are the children of Dyauṣ and Prithvi.[9] Dyauṣ and Prithvi's other sons include Agni, Parjanya, the Ādityas, the Maruts, the Angirases.[7][9] The Ashvinis are called "divó nápāt", meaning grandsons of Dyauṣ because they are the twin sons of Surya, who was his son with Prithvi and Sanjna.[7][10] Dyauṣ is a roaring bull, who fertilizes Prithvi, who is a roaring cow.[7] Dyauṣ is also known for the blessing of his own daughter by Prithvi, Ushas, which, according to Horace Hayman Wilson (1866), is vaguely but vividly mentioned in the Rigveda.[11]
Dyauṣ is also a black stallion studded with pearls in a simile with the night sky with Prithvi also being a brown mare studded with grasses in a simile with the fertile earth.[7][12]
Indra's separation of Dyauṣ and Prithvi is celebrated in the Rigveda as an important creation myth.[9]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Zeus's main Hindu equivalent is Indra. "Indra | Hindu God of War, Rain & Thunder | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 23 October 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
- ^ Shri, Satya (23 January 2017). Demystifying Brahminism and Re-Inventing Hinduism: Volume 1 - Demystifying Brahminism. Notion Press. ISBN 978-1-946515-54-4.
- ^ West 2007, p. 171.
- ^ Ṛg·veda, 5.60.6.
- ^ Leeming, David; Fee, Christopher (2016). The Goddess: Myths of the Great Mother. Reaktion Books. ISBN 978-1-78023-538-7.
- ^ Sanskrit: Ṛg·veda, Wikisource; translation: Ralph T. H. Griffith Rigveda, Wikisource
- ^ a b c d e Macdonell, Arthur Anthony (1897). Vedic Mythology. Oxford University Press. pp. 21–22.
- ^ Dalal, Roshen (2014). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin Books. ISBN 9788184752779. Entry: "Dyaus"
- ^ a b c Jamison, Stephanie; Brereton, Joel P. (2014). The Rigveda –– The Earliest Religious Poetry of India. Oxford University Press. pp. 50–51.
- ^ West, M. L. (2007). Indo-European Poetry and Myth. Oxford University Press. p. 187. ISBN 978-0-19-928-075-9.
- ^ www.wisdomlib.org (27 August 2021). "Rig Veda 1.71.5 [English translation]". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
- ^ Jamison & Brereton 2014, p. 1492.
- Oberlies, Thomas (1998). Die Religion des Rgveda. Vienna: Institut für Indologie der Universität Wien.