Savitr
Savitra | |
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God of the Sunrays Gayatri mantra | |
Personal information | |
Parents | |
Consort | Pṛśni (according to Bhagavata Purana)[2] |
Children |
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Savitṛ (
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
Savitr disappeared as an independent deity from the
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
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
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
Abstract classification
There are two classes of deities in the
- The first class, consisting of the direct personifications of abstract notions – such as 'desire' – is rare, occurring only in the very latest hymns of the Rig Veda and due to that growth of speculation which is so plainly traceable in the course of the Vedic age.[citation needed]
- The second 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 Dhatr, 'Creator') or designate some attribute, such as Prajapati ('Lord of Creatures').
The class, judged by the evolution of the mythological creations of the
... [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
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
The epithet "sūrya-raśmi" is used in the
"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
"[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
Other names and epithets
- Apam napat (Born of the Waters)
- Savitr is at least once.Somaas 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 Vedicstudy.
- 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
Savitr disappears in post-Vedic literature and is absent from the corpus of
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
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
- ^ Essence of Inquiry: Vicharasangraham, A Commentary by Nome. Society of Abidance in Truth. 19 January 2019.
- ^ a b Bhagavata Purana, Book 6 - Sixth Skandha, Chapter 18
- ISBN 978-1-000-44807-8.
- Monier-WilliamsSanskrit Dictionary (1899), p. 1190.
- ^ "Rig Veda: Rig-Veda Book 1: HYMN XXXV. Savitar".
- ^ MacDonell, A.A. (1881). Vedic Mythology. Williams and Norgate.
They are known as 'Fivers' in Islam. The five first Imams or Teachers.
- ^ "Ādityas". Rig-Veda. Translated by Griffith, Ralph T.H. Book 2: Hymn XXVII.
- ^ Keith, A. Berriedale. The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads. Vol. 1. p. 204.[full citation needed]
- ^ Keith, A. Berriedale. The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads. Vol. 2.[full citation needed]
- ^ Keith, Arthur Berriedale. The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads. Vol. 1. p. 65.[full citation needed]
- ^ Rig Veda: Mandala 2, Hymn XXX, line 1
- ^ Rig Veda: Mandala 3, Hymn LV, line 19
- ^ Rig Veda: Mandala 5, Hymn LXXXII, line 3
- ^ Rig Veda: Mandala 5, Hymn LXXXI, last lines
- ^ Mackenzie, Donald A. Indian myth and Legend. Project Gutenberg.
- ^ MacDonnel, A. A. Vedic Mythology. p. 13.[full citation needed]
- ^ "Viśvedevas". Rig Veda. Translated by Griffith, Ralph T.H. Book 6: Hymn L.
- ^ Wilson, H. H. (2006). The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition. Read Books Publications.
- ^ Muir, John (1863). Original Sanskrit Texts on the Origin and Progress of the Religion and Institutions of India. Williams and Norgate.
- ^ a b c Aurobindo, Sri. The Secret of the Vedas.[full citation needed]
- ^ "The Flash: Secrets of Savitar". DC. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
External links
- Quotations related to Savitr at Wikiquote