Page:The Mythology of All Races Vol 6 (Indian and Iranian).djvu/41

Rh are by far the greatest gods; then come the Aśvins (the twin celestial "Horsemen"), the Maruts, and Varuṇa; then Uṣas ("Dawn"), Savitṛ, Bṛhaspati, Sūrya, Pūṣan ("Nourisher"); then Vāyu, Dyāvāpṛthivī, Viṣṇu, and Rudra; and finally Yama and Parjanya (the rain-god). Even this list, based on numerical considerations, is open to objection, for some of the deities, such as Varuṇa, are obviously greater, though less closely connected with the sacrifice, so that, despite their true rank, they are less often mentioned than others, such as the Aśvins, who are more frequently invoked in the sacrifice.

Of the gods of the sky Dyaus ("Sky") corresponds in name to Zeus, and like Zeus he is a father. Indeed, this is by far the most important characteristic of Zeus's counterpart in the Ṛgveda. Uṣas ("Dawn") is most often the child mentioned, but the Aśvins, Agni, Parjanya, Sūrya, the Ādityas, the Maruts, Indra, and the Aṅgirases are among his offspring, and he is the parent of Agni. Normally, however, he is mentioned with Earth in the compound Dyāvāpṛthivī, and on the solitary occasion when he is hailed in the vocative as Dyauṣ pitar ("Father Sky," the exact equivalent of the Greek and the Latin Iuppiter), "Mother Earth" is simultaneously addressed. Scarcely any other characteristic is ascribed to him; it is simply stated that he is a bull who bellows downward, or a black steed decked with pearls (i.e. the dark sky set with stars), that he smiles through the clouds, and that he bears the thunderbolt. Thus he is hardly anthropomorphized at all, whether named alone, or when conjoined with earth, and his worship is little removed from the direct adoration of the sky as a living being. No moral attribute belongs to him, nor is there any trace of sovereignty over the world or the other gods. The position of power and elevation which Greek mythology ascribes to Zeus is not accorded in full to any Vedic deity, but in so far as Zeus has a parallel, it is in Varuṇa, not in Dyaus.

In comparison with Dyaus Varuṇa has far more anthropomorphic traits. He wears a golden mantle and a shining robe;