Savitr

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Savitra
God of the Sunrays
Gayatri mantra
Personal information
Parents
ConsortPṛśni (according to Bhagavata Purana)[2]
Children
  • Sāvitrī, Vyāhṛti and Trayī (daughters)
  • 9 sons including Agnihotra, Paśu, Soma and Cāturmāsya (according to Bhagavata Purana)[2]

Savitṛ (

Vedic primeval mother goddess Aditi. His name in Vedic Sanskrit
connotes "impeller, rouser, vivifier."

He is sometimes identified with—and at other times distinguished from—Surya, "the Sun god". When considered distinct from the Sun proper, he is conceived of as the divine influence or vivifying power of the Sun. The Sun before sunrise is called Savitr, and after sunrise until sunset it is called Sūrya.[4] Savitr is venerated in the

Gayatri mantra. Furthermore, he is described with great detail in Hymn 35 of the Rig Veda, also called the Hymn of Savitr.[5]
In this hymn, Savitr is personified and represented as a patron deity. He is celebrated in eleven whole hymns of the Rig Veda and in parts of many others texts, with his name being mentioned about 170 times in aggregate.

Savitr disappeared as an independent deity from the

Hindu pantheon after the end of the Vedic period, but is still worshiped in modern Hinduism
and is referred to as Sāvitrī.

Rigvedic deity

Savitr is a deity whose name primarily denotes an agent, in the form of a noun derived from a verbal root with the agent suffix -tṛ added. The name of Savitr belongs to a class of Vedic theonyms, together with Dhatṛ, Tratṛ and

Tvastr. These names denote that these are agent gods, who create, protect, and produce, respectively.[6]

Appearance

Savitr has golden arms, and is broad-handed or beautiful-handed. He is also pleasant tongued or beautiful-tongued, and is once called iron-jawed. His eyes are golden as well. He is yellow-haired, an attribute shared with Agni and Indra. He dons on a tawny garb. He has a golden chariot with a golden axle, which is omni-form, just as he himself is capable of assuming all forms. His channel is analogized as a resplendent chariot drawn by two radiant steeds or by two or more bronze, white-footed stallions. Mighty splendour ("amati") is preeminently attributed to Savitr, and mighty "golden" splendour to him only. Such splendour he stretches out or diffuses. He illumines the air, heaven and earth, the world, the spaces of the earth, the vault of heaven.

Functions

Like

Aditya, Savitr is true to the Eternal Order and act as the score exacter.[7]

His primordial pathways in the air are dustless and sleekly traversed, on them he is besought to fortify his invokers. He is prayed to convey the departed soul to where the righteous dwell. Savitr bestows immortality on the gods as well as length of life on man. He also bestowed immortality on the

Rbhus, who by the greatness of their deeds advanced to his dwelling. Like other gods, Savitr is a supporter of the cosmos. Also, he holds the whole world, a role which was also assigned to Vishnu
in the Vedas.

Abstract classification

There are two classes of deities in the

Rig Veda
whose nature is founded on abstraction.

The 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, illustrating a particular aspect of activity or character. Such epithets gradually become detached, finally attaining an independent status. Thus Rohita, the 'Red One' (whose female form is Rohinī), originally an epithet of the sun, as a separate deity in the capacity of a Creator.[citation needed
]

... [the] second class of gods, who may be called 'abstract', is afforded by the agent gods – such as Dhatr – whose name expresses a function which they perform; ... they can be called 'functional gods'. In all the cases which are to be found in the

Vedic literature we are able to say with a fair degree of plausibility that the conception formed itself from the use of the epithet in question, in the first place, of some concrete god; ... after denoting that deity in the special field of action, it was gradually made into a separate deity, concerned merely with the sphere of action in question. This, however, cannot be proved beyond doubt: It will, for instance, always be open to question whether Savitr is really an aspect of the sun, or whether he is god of stimulation, who by reason of similarity of nature has been made 'like to the sun'. In other cases there can be less doubt: The god Visnu cannot really be explained as a god of 'wide stepping' – he is a sun god, who happens to have a special sphere of activity ...[8]

Savitr is never mentioned as having part in the

Soma sacrifice

a fact which is doubtless fair evidence that the

Rig Veda did not know him as having a place in the rite, and that he was later brought in, perhaps because of his growing importance, perhaps as an Aditya."[9]

Solar aspects

According to

Soma
.

The epithet "sūrya-raśmi" is used in the

Rig Veda
only once, and it is applied to Savitr:

"Radiating with the beams of the Sun, golden-haired, Savitr raises up His effulgence continually from the east."

Like

. He is lord of all things worthy, and bestows blessings pervading heaven, air, earth.

... the connection of Savitr with the sun is fairly close. It is at least possible, therefore, that in its origin Savitr was not an independent creation, but was an epithet of Surya, but that question is of little importance: The essential feature of the god is not his original basis, but his function as the inspirer or impeller to holy sacrifice: The ritual act is repeatedly said in the Yajur Veda to be done ‘on the instigation of the god Savitr’.[10]

In several passages of the Rig Veda, Savitr and

Vedic
poet observes:

"[G]od Savitr has raised aloft his brilliance, making light for the whole world; Surya shining brightly has filled heaven and earth and air with his rays."[citation needed]

In another hymn Surya is spoken of in terms Prasavitṛ (Vivifier)[citation needed], an adjective usually applied to Savitr, and in the third verse[citation needed] Savitr is apparently mentioned as the same god as Surya. In other hymns also, it is hardly possible to separate the two deities.[citation needed] In certain passages, Savitr combines with the rays of the sun or shines with the rays of the sun.

Savitr has a major role in creation. The relevant hymn mentions that: "Indra measured six broad spaces, from which no existing thing is excluded: He it is who made the wide expanse of earth and the lofty dome of the sky, even he." Savitr assisted Indra in shaping the universe.[15]

[T]here are in the last book of the

Rig veda in which it occurs, Prajapati is an epithet of the solar deity Savitr, who in the same hymn is said to rule over what moves and stands.[16]

Other names and epithets

Apam napat (Born of the Waters)
Savitr is at least once.
Soma
as well.
God of the Middle Region
Commentator
Adityas, who are in heaven, are also called Savitr. It is probably owing to this epithet and because Savitr’s paths are said to be in the atmosphere, that this deity occurs among the gods of the mesial expanse among those of outer space in the Naighantuka
.
Prajapati
Savitr is once depicted as the
Taittiriya Brahmana
(v. 1, 6, 4), it has been stated that Prajapati becoming Savitr created living beings.
Damunas (Domestic)
In the
Rig Veda
, Savitr has been twice spoken of as domestic ("damunas"), an epithet otherwise almost entirely limited to Agni.
Asura
Like many other gods, Savitr is mentioned as ‘asura’ in many hymns of the Rig Veda.
Pusan
Savitr alone is the lord of vivifying power and on account of his movements (yamabhih), he becomes
Vedic
study.
Mitra
Savitr is also said to become Mitra by reason of his laws.
Bhaga
Savitr seems sometimes to be identified with Bhaga also, unless the latter word is here only an epithet of Savitr. The name of Bhaga, the good god bestowing benefits is indeed often added to that of Savitr so as to form the single expression Savitr Bhaga or Bhaga Savitr, with the term Bhaga simply acting as a qualitative and attributive adjective.

Savitr in the Brahmanas

The Vedas do not specifically identify the Ādityas as there is no classification of the

Satapatha Brahmana
, the number of Ādityas is eight, and in other passages twelve Ādityas are mentioned.

Savitr disappears in post-Vedic literature and is absent from the corpus of

Pauranic Hinduism.[18][19]

Hindu revivalism

Some modern Hindu spiritual thinkers assign symbolism to the Vedic deities like Savitr. The Vedic deities are not only forces of nature, but also forces that exist within the human intellect and psyche, and help the individual in spiritual progress.[20]

According to Sri Aurobindo, the Vedic depictions are deeper than mere imagery. The gods, goddesses and the evil forces mentioned in the Vedas represent various cosmic powers. They play a significant role in the drama of creation, preservation, and destruction in the inner world of a human being.[20]

Once the senses are controlled and the mind is stabilized through slaying of all the dark powers, comes the awakening, the goddess Ushas, who brings along with her Ashvins into the world of inner consciousness. After Ushas appears Aditi, the Primal Sun, the God of Light: First as Savitr, who represents the divine grace essential for all spiritual success, and then as Mitra, who as the divine love is considered as a friend of the illumined mind (Indra) and his associates (the other gods). The Sun is of Truth, after which appear

Rta (Truth in Action) and Rtachit (Truth consciousness).[20]

Popular culture

In

In a fiction by author Ryan Sequeira, called "EvOLv", where Savitr has been named as one of the Supreme Gods - parallel with Shiva - The God Savitr is referred to as the source of light in the multiverse.[citation needed]

In the Dark-Hunter fantasy series by author Sherrilyn Kenyon, Savitar is a Chthonian god killer who is thousands of years old and was responsible for policing the Atlantean pantheon.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ Essence of Inquiry: Vicharasangraham, A Commentary by Nome. Society of Abidance in Truth. 19 January 2019.
  2. ^ a b Bhagavata Purana, Book 6 - Sixth Skandha, Chapter 18
  3. .
  4. Monier-Williams
    Sanskrit Dictionary (1899), p. 1190.
  5. ^ "Rig Veda: Rig-Veda Book 1: HYMN XXXV. Savitar".
  6. ^ MacDonell, A.A. (1881). Vedic Mythology. Williams and Norgate. They are known as 'Fivers' in Islam. The five first Imams or Teachers.
  7. ^ "Ādityas". Rig-Veda. Translated by Griffith, Ralph T.H. Book 2: Hymn XXVII.
  8. ^ Keith, A. Berriedale. The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads. Vol. 1. p. 204.[full citation needed]
  9. ^ Keith, A. Berriedale. The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads. Vol. 2.[full citation needed]
  10. ^ Keith, Arthur Berriedale. The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads. Vol. 1. p. 65.[full citation needed]
  11. ^ Rig Veda: Mandala 2, Hymn XXX, line 1
  12. ^ Rig Veda: Mandala 3, Hymn LV, line 19
  13. ^ Rig Veda: Mandala 5, Hymn LXXXII, line 3
  14. ^ Rig Veda: Mandala 5, Hymn LXXXI, last lines
  15. ^ Mackenzie, Donald A. Indian myth and Legend. Project Gutenberg.
  16. ^ MacDonnel, A. A. Vedic Mythology. p. 13.[full citation needed]
  17. ^ "Viśvedevas". Rig Veda. Translated by Griffith, Ralph T.H. Book 6: Hymn L.
  18. ^ Wilson, H. H. (2006). The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition. Read Books Publications.
  19. ^ Muir, John (1863). Original Sanskrit Texts on the Origin and Progress of the Religion and Institutions of India. Williams and Norgate.
  20. ^ a b c Aurobindo, Sri. The Secret of the Vedas.[full citation needed]
  21. ^ "The Flash: Secrets of Savitar". DC. Retrieved 29 May 2023.

External links

  • Quotations related to Savitr at Wikiquote
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