Thirty-three gods
The Thirty-three gods or Tridasha (Sanskrit त्रिदश tridaśa "three times ten") is a pantheon of Vedic demigods, some of Vedic origin and some developed later. All the Vedic demigods are called tri-piṣṭapa, and there are three kinds of them — the Ādityas, the Vasus and the Rudras — beneath whom are the other demigods, like the Maruts and Sādhyas.[1] Tridasha generally includes[2] a set of 31 deities consisting of 12 Ādityas, 11 Rudras, and 8 Vasus; the identity of the other two deities that fill out the 33 varies, though their roles are generally a creator deity, presiding over procreation and protector of life and the 33rd is an all-powerful supreme ruler.
The 31 are:
- Twelve Ādityas (personified deities) – Mitra, Aryaman, Bhaga, Varuṇa, Dakṣa, Aṃśa, Tvāṣṭṛ, Pūṣan, Vivasvat, Savitṛ, Śakra, Vishnu (Different from Lord Vishnu). This list sometimes varies in particulars.
- Eleven Rudras, consisting of:
- Eight Vasus (deities of material elements) – Pṛthivī "Earth", Agni "Fire", Antarikṣa "Atmosphere" or "Space", Vāyu "Wind", Dyauṣ "Sky", Sūrya "Sun", Nakṣatra "Stars", Soma "Moon"
Other sources include the two Aśvins (or Nāsatyas), twin solar deities.
- Prajāpati "Master of creatures", a creator god.
The generic title, though not the particular names of the deities, was borrowed in Buddhist sources as a name for the heaven "of the Thirty-three gods" (Trāyastriṃśa).
References
- ↑ According to Madhavaacarya: ādityā vasavo rudrās tri-vidhā hi surā yataḥ [http://vanisource.org/wiki/SB_7.4.13?terms=There%20are%20three%20kinds%20of%20demigods—the%20Ādityas,%20the%20Vasus%20and%20the%20Rudras—beneath%20whom%20are%20the%20other%20demigods,%20like%20the%20Maruts%20and%20Sādhyas&first=In%20the%20Skanda%20Purāṇa%20there%20is%20this%20description:%20upāyanaṁ%20daduḥ&last=tri%20applies%20to%20Lord%20Brahmā,%20Lord%20Śiva%20and%20Lord%20Viṣṇu.]
- ↑ 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)
|