Dyaus ( ), or Dyauspitar (Devanagari द्यौष्पितृ, ), is the
Ṛigvedic sky deity. His consort is
Prithvi
Prithvi or Prithvi Mata ( Sanskrit: पृथ्वी, ', also पृथिवी, ', "the Vast One") is the Sanskrit name for the earth, as well as the name of a devi (goddess) in Hinduism and some branches of Buddhism. In the Vedas, her ...
, the earth goddess, and together they are the archetypal parents in the
Rigveda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts ('' śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only on ...
.
Nomenclature
stems from
Proto-Indo-Iranian
Proto-Indo-Iranian, also Proto-Indo-Iranic is the reconstructed proto-language of the Indo-Iranian/Indo-Iranic branch of Indo-European. Its speakers, the hypothetical Proto-Indo-Iranians, are assumed to have lived in the late 3rd millennium ...
''*dyā́wš'', from the
Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo ...
(PIE) daylight-sky god , and is
cognate
In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical ef ...
with the Greek
''Zeus Patēr'', Illyrian ''
Dei-pátrous'', or Latin
''Jupiter'' (from an earlier *''Djous patēr''), stemming from the PIE ''Dyḗus ph₂tḗr'' ("Daylight-sky Father").'
The noun (when used without the 'father') refers to the daylight sky, and occurs frequently in the
Rigveda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts ('' śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only on ...
, as an entity. The sky in Vedic writing was described as rising in three tiers, , , and or .
Literature
Dyáuṣ Pitṛ́ appears in hymns with
Prithvi Mata 'Mother Earth' in the ancient Vedic scriptures of
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
.
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 He is also referred to under different theonyms: Dyavaprithvi, for example, is a
dvandva compound combining 'heaven' and 'earth' as Dyauṣ and
Prithvi
Prithvi or Prithvi Mata ( Sanskrit: पृथ्वी, ', also पृथिवी, ', "the Vast One") is the Sanskrit name for the earth, as well as the name of a devi (goddess) in Hinduism and some branches of Buddhism. In the Vedas, her ...
.
Dyauṣ's most defining trait is his paternal role.
His daughter,
Uṣas, personifies dawn. The gods, especially Sūrya, are stated to be the children of Dyauṣ and Prithvi.
Dyauṣ's other sons include Agni,
Parjanya Parjanya ( sa, पर्जन्य ) according to the Vedas is a deity of rain, thunder, lightning, and the one who fertilizes the earth. It is another epithet of Indra, the Vedic deity of the sky and heaven.
Description
It is assumed Parjanya is ...
, the
Ādityas
In Hinduism, Adityas ( sa, आदित्य, Āditya, of Aditi, ), refers to the offspring of Aditi, the goddess representing the infinity. The name ''Aditya'', in the singular, is taken to refer to the sun god Surya. Generally, Adityas are t ...
, the
Maruts
In Hinduism, the Maruts (; sa, मरुत), also known as the Marutagana and sometimes identified with Rudras, are storm deities and sons of Rudra and Prisni. The number of Maruts varies from 27 to sixty (three times sixty in RV 8.96.8). ...
, and the Angirases.
The
Ashvins
The Ashvins ( sa, अश्विन्, Aśvin, horse possessors), also known as Ashwini Kumara and Asvinau,, §1.42. are Hindu twin gods associated with medicine, health, dawn and sciences. In the ''Rigveda'', they are described as youthful div ...
are called "''divó nápāt''", meaning offspring/progeny/grandsons of Dyauṣ.
Dyauṣ is often visualized as a roaring animal, often a bull, who fertilizes the earth.
Dyauṣ is also known for the rape of his own daughter, which is vaguely but vividly mentioned in the Ṛg·veda.
Dyauṣ is also stated to be like a black stallion studded with pearls in a simile with the night sky.
Indra's separation of Dyauṣ and Prithvi is celebrated in the Rigveda as an important creation myth.
See also
*
Dyēus
''*Dyḗus'' ( lit. "daylight-sky-god"), also ''*Dyḗus ph₂tḗr'' (lit. "father daylight-sky-god"), is the reconstructed name of the daylight-sky god in Proto-Indo-European mythology. ''*Dyēus'' was conceived as a divine personification of ...
*
Rigvedic deities
Rigvedic deities are deities mentioned in the sacred texts of Rigveda, the principal text of the historical Vedic religion of the Vedic period (1500–500 BCE).
There are 1,028 hymns (sūkta) in the Rigveda. Most of these hymns are dedicated to ...
*
Uranus (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Uranus ( ), sometimes written Ouranos ( grc, Οὐρανός, , sky, ), is the personification of the sky and one of the Greek primordial deities. According to Hesiod, Uranus was the son and husband of Gaia (Earth), with w ...
References
*
{{Authority control
Rigvedic deities
Sky and weather gods
Indo-European deities