Vedic Deities
Deities of the Vedic hymns — the elemental and cosmic powers.
5 deities
Agni
अग्निThe Sacred Fire
Fire as a deity, and the deity with whom the Rigveda opens. The intermediary who carries offerings from humans to the gods — and, though he has almost no temples, the god present at more Hindu rites than any other.
Indra
इन्द्रKing of the Gods
King of the gods and the dominant deity of the Rigveda, to whom roughly a quarter of its hymns are addressed — and the clearest case in Hindu religion of a supreme god who lost his position. Now a figure of cosmology and narrative rather than of worship.
Vayu
वायुThe Wind
The wind as a deity, and the breath within the body — the same word, prana, covers both. Father of Hanuman and Bhima, guardian of the northwest, and in the Dvaita tradition the highest being after Vishnu.
Varuna
वरुणLord of Waters and Oaths
Guardian of cosmic order and of oaths in the Rigveda, and lord of the waters thereafter. The Vedic deity with the most developed moral character — and the one whose decline is the sharpest in the whole tradition.
Yama
यमLord of Death and Dharma
The god of death, who was also the first man to die — and, as Dharmaraja, the judge who assigns the consequences of a life. The deity most people would rather not name, and the teacher of the Katha Upanishad.