The Religion of the Veda: The Ancient Religion of India (from Rig-Veda to Upanishads) c7.s1.10

c7.s1.10

There is another, more permanent traditional Hindu division of the gods which arranges them in three classes, mostly of eleven each, according to their place or habitat in nature or the cosmos, that is, in sky, mid-air, and earth. The classification is first made in Rig-Veda 1. 139. 11: to some extent it remains good ever after. This topography of nature has a strong hold on the early religion: times without end the later Vedic texts insist that Agni, "Fire" belongs to, or is typical of the earth; Vāta or Vāyu, "Wind," of the mid-air, and Sūrya, "Sun," of the sky.¹ So far it is the philosophy of the obvious. They continue cleverly along that line in the following arrangement. I state only the more important members of each class: