Tvashtr (, ) or Tvashta (, ) is a

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed ...

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

artisan god or fashioner. He is mentioned as an

Aditya Aditya may refer to: * Ādityas, a group of Hindu deities * An alternative name for Surya Surya ( ; , ) is the Sun#Dalal, Dalal, p. 399 as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta t ...

(sons of goddess Aditi) in later Hindu scriptures like the ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

'' and ''

Puranas Puranas (Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
(1995 Editio ...

'', though his significance gets reduced. Tvashtr is sometimes identified with another artisan deity named Vishvakarma.

In Hindu Literature

In the ''

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋच्, ऋच्, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...

'', Tvashtr is stated to be a skillful craftsman who created many implements, including Indra's bolt, the axe of

Brihaspati Brihaspati (, ), is a Hindu god. In the ancient Vedic scriptures, Brihaspati is associated with fire, and the word also refers to a god who counsels the devas and devis (gods and goddesses). In some later texts, the word refers to the large ...

, and a cup for divine food and drink. He is stated to be the creator of forms, and is often stated to be the crafter of living beings and wombs. He is also considered a universal father, and an ancestor of humans through his daughter

Saranyu Sanjna (, , also spelled as Samjna and Sangya), also known as Saranyu (, ), is a Hindu goddess associated with clouds and the chief consort of Surya, the Sun god. She is mentioned in the ''Rigveda'', the '' Harivamsa'' and the '' Puranas''. I ...

. He is the father of

Bṛhaspati Brihaspati (, ), is a Hindu god. In the ancient Vedic scriptures, Brihaspati is associated with fire, and the word also refers to a god who counsels the devas and devis (gods and goddesses). In some later texts, the word refers to the large ...

, and likely Indra's father as well. He wields a metal axe, and rides a chariot pulled by two fallow bay mares. He is the guardian of Soma, and his son Vishvarupa is the guardian of cows. Indra has a conflict with his likely father Tvashtr, with him stealing Tvashtr's soma and trying to possess Vishvarupa’s cattle. Indra is consistently victorious in the conflict, and Tvashtr is stated to fear Indra. In the

Taittiriya Samhita The ''Taittirīya Shakha'' (Sanskrit, loosely meaning 'Branch or School of the sage Tittiri'), is a ''shakha'' (i.e. 'branch', 'school', or rescension) of the Krishna (black) Yajurveda. The Taittiriyas are themselves divided into numerous sub-s ...

and

Brahmanas The Brahmanas (; Sanskrit: , International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''Brāhmaṇam'') are Vedas, Vedic śruti works attached to the Samhitas (hymns and mantras) of the Rigveda, Rig, Samaveda, Sama, Yajurveda, Yajur, and Athar ...

, Vishvarupa is killed by Indra, and so Tvashtr does not allow Indra to attend his Soma sacrifice. Indra however, steals and drinks the soma through his strength. In order to have revenge for the murder of his son Vishvarupa, Tvashtr creates a demon called

Vritra Vritra (, , ) is a danava in Hinduism. He serves as the personification of drought, and is an adversary of the king of the devas, Indra. As a danava, he belongs to the race of the asuras. Vritra is also known in the Vedas as Ahi ( ). He appe ...

. However, when wishing him into existence, Tvashtr makes a mispronunciation in his incantation, which allows Indra to defeat Vritra. In the Mānava Purana, he took rebirth as Arjuna's son, Babhruvahana. Tvashtr is associated with many other deities,

Pushan Pushan (, ) is a Hindu Vedic solar deity and one of the Adityas. He is the god of meeting. Pushan is responsible for marriages, journeys, roads, and the feeding of cattle. He was a psychopomp (soul guide), conducting souls to the other world ...

Savitr Savitṛ ( , nominative Grammatical number, singular: , also rendered as Savitur), in Vedic scriptures is an Ādityas, Aditya (i.e., an "offspring" of the Vedic primeval mother goddess Aditi). His name in Vedic Sanskrit connotes "impeller, ro ...

, Dhatr,

Prajapati Prajapati (, ) is a Vedas, Vedic deity of Hinduism. He is later identified with Brahma, the creator god. Prajapati is a form of the creator-god Brahma, but the name is also the name of many different gods, in many Hindu scriptures, ranging f ...

, and

Vishvakarman Vishvakarma or Vishvakarman (, ) is a craftsman deity and the divine architect of the Deva (Hinduism), devas in contemporary Hinduism. In the early texts, the craftsman deity was known as Tvastar and the word "Vishvakarma" was originally used a ...

, due to his role as a fashioner. Tvashta Dev mentioned in the RigVed 1.61.6 as below: अस्मा इदु त्वष्टा तक्षद्वज्रं स्वपस्तमं स्वर्यं रणाय । वृत्रस्य चिद्विदद्येन मर्म तुजन्नीशानस्तुजता कियेधाः ''Translation: Tvashtadeva prepared for Indra a powerful thunderbolt that penetrates the target well. With that thunderbolt, Indradev, the mighty destroyer of enemies, struck Vritra and killed him with it''

Citations

External links

www.viswakarmas.com
Hindu gods Rigvedic deities Adityas Smithing gods {{Hindu-myth-stub

In Hindu Literature

See also

Citations

External links