The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c17.75
The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c17.75
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v1.c17.75
A characteristic of the Vedic theology is the tendency to group gods in pairs, especially Mitra and Varuṇa, a practice due in all probability to the natural union of heaven and earth as a pair. Of larger groups there are the Maruts, the Ādityas, and the Vasus. The last are associated vaguely with Indra or Agni, and have practically no individual character. Finally, priestly speculation has created the class of the Viçve devās, ‘the All-gods,’ who first include all the gods, and, in the second place, are regarded as a special group invoked with others, like the Ādityas and the Vasus.