Vedic Mythology c5.s4.1

c5.s4.1

§ 38. Two Classes. — There are in the RV. two classes of deities whose nature is founded on abstraction. The one class consisting of the direct personifications of abstract notions such as 'desire' is rare, occurring only in the very latest hymns of the RV. and due to that growth of speculation which is so plainly traceable in the course of the Vedic age. The other and more numerous class comprises deities whose names primarily either denote an agent, in the form of a noun derived from a root with the suffix *-tṛ*, such as Dhātṛ, 'Creator', or designate some attribute, such as Prajāpati, 'Lord of Creatures'. This class, judged by the evolution of the mythological creations of the Veda, does not represent direct abstractions, but appears in each case to be derived from an epithet applied to one or more deities and illustrating a particular aspect of activity or character. Such epithets gradually becoming detached finally attained to an independent position. Thus Rohita, 'the Red One' (whose female form is Rohiṇī), originally an epithet of the sun, figures in the AV. as a separate deity in the capacity of a Creator¹.