Vedic Mythology c3.s2.6

c3.s2.6

The gods having lost their distinctive features, there is apparent a tendency to divide them into groups. Thus it is characteristic of the period that the supernatural powers form the two hostile camps of the Devas or gods on the one hand and the Asuras or demons on the other. The gods are further divided into the three classes of the terrestrial Vasus, the aerial Rudras, and the celestial Ādityas (§ 45). The most significant group is the representative triad of Fire, Wind, and Sun. The formalism of these works further shows itself in the subdivision of individual deities by the personification of their various attributes. Thus they speak of an ‘Agni, lord of food’, ‘Agni, lord of prayer’ and so forth².