Rigvedic deities

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There are 1028 hymns in the Rigveda, most of them dedicated to specific deities.

Indra, the heroic god and slayer of Vrtra and Vala, liberator of the cows and the rivers, Agni, the sacrificial fire and messenger of the gods, and Soma, the ritual drink dedicated to Indra are the most prominent deities by far.

Invoked in groups are the Vishvedevas (the "all-gods"), the Maruts, violent storm gods in Indra's train and the Ashvins, the twin horsemen.

There are two major families of gods, the Devas and the Asuras. Unlike in later Hinduism, the Asuras are not yet demonized, Mitra and Varuna being their most prominent members. Aditi is the mother both of Agni and of the Adityas, a group of Asuras, led by Mitra and Varuna, with Aryaman, Bhaga, Daksha, Ansa and Savitar.

Surya is the personification of the Sun, but Savitar, the Ashvins and the Rbhus, semi-divine craftsmen, also have aspects of solar deities. Other natural phenomena deified include Vayu, (the wind), Dyaus and Prithivi (Heaven and Earth), Dyaus continuing Dyeus, the chief god of the Proto-Indo-European religion, and Ushas (the dawn), the most prominent goddess of the Rigveda, and Apas (the waters).

Rivers play an important role, deified as goddesses, most prominently the Sapta Sindhu and the Sarasvati River.

Yama is the mythical first ancestor, also worshipped as a deity, and the god of the underworld and death.

Vishnu and Rudra, the prominent deities of later Hinduism (Rudra being an early form of Shiva) are already present as marginal gods.

The names of Indra, Mitra, Varuna and the Nasatyas are also attested in a Mitanni treaty, suggesting that the religion of the Indo-Aryan Mitanni ruling class was very close to that of the Rigveda.

[edit] Deities by prominence

List of Rigvedic deities by number of dedicated hymns, after Griffith (1888). Some dedications are to twin-deities, such as Indra-Agni, Mitra-Varuna, Soma-Rudra, here counted doubly.