Vayu

Vāyu
Vāyu
God of Air, Wind, and Breath
Member of the Pancha Bhuta and Dikpala
	Vayu (dikpala), on his mount, gazelle
Other names	Anila, Pavana, Vyāna, Vāta, Tanuna, Mukhyaprana, Bhima
Devanagari	वायु
Sanskrit transliteration	Vāyu
Affiliation	Deva
Abode	Vayu Loka, Satya Loka
Mantra	Om Vayave Namaha
Weapon	Mace (Weapon of Mukhyaprana Vayu); Goad (Weapon of Dikpala Vayu);
Mount	Chariot drawn by Horses, Gazelle
Personal information
Parents	Vishvapurusha (according to the Rigveda); Vishnu and Lakshmi (according to Madhva sect);
Consort	A daughter of Tvashta; Bharati (according to Madhva sect);
Children	Hanuman (celestial son) ; Bhima (celestial son)
Equivalents
Indo-European equivalent	H₂weh₁yú

Vayu (Sanskrit pronunciation: [ʋaːjʊ], Sanskrit: वायु, IAST: Vāyu), also known as Vata and Pavana, is the Hindu god of the winds as well as the divine messenger of the gods. In the Vedic scriptures, Vayu is an important deity and is closely associated with Indra, the king of gods. He is mentioned to be born from the breath of Supreme Being Vishvapurusha and also the first one to drink Soma. The Upanishads praise him as Prana or 'life breath of the world'. In the later Hindu scriptures, he is described as a dikpala (one of the guardians of the direction), who looks over the north-west direction. The Hindu epics describe him as the father of the god Hanuman and Bhima.

The followers of the 13th-century saint Madhva believe their guru as an incarnation of Vayu. They worship the wind deity as Mukhyaprana and consider him as the son of the god Vishnu.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.