A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature c3.4

c3.4

Thus there were many distinct deities, and each of them had some general distinctive powers and attributes; but their attributes and characters were frequently confounded, and there was a constant tendency to elevate now this one now that one to the supremacy, and to look upon him as the Great Power. In course of time a pre-eminence was given to a triad of deities, foreshadowing the Tri-mūrti or Trinity of later days. In this triad Agni (Fire) and Sūrya (the Sun) held a place, and the third place was assigned either to Vāyu (the Wind) or to Indra (god of the sky). Towards the end of the Rig-veda Sanhitā, in the hymns of the latest date, the idea of one Supreme Being assumed a more definite shape, and the Hindu mind was perceiving, even if it had not distinctly realised, the great conception.