Thirty-three gods
The Thirty-three gods, or Tridasha, is a pantheon of Hindu deities of the current manvantara. The Samhitas, which are the oldest layer of text in the Vedas, enumerate 33 deities classified as Devas, either 11 each for the three worlds, or as 12 Adityas, 11 Rudras, eight Vasus and two Ashvins in the Brahmanas.
List
The thirty-three deities are:- Eight Vasus – Dyaus, Prithvi, Vayu, Agni, Nakshatra, Varuna, Surya, Chandra
- Twelve Adityas – Indra, Aryaman, Tvashtr, Varuna, Bhaga, Savitr, Vivasvat, Amsha, Mitra, Pushan, Daksha, Vishnu
- Eleven Rudras, consisting of Aja, Ekapada, Ahirbudhanya, Tvasta, Rudra, Hara, Sambhu, Trayambaka, Aparajita, Ishana, and Tribhuvana
- Two Ashvins, twin solar deities
Variations
The list of deities varies across the manuscripts found in different parts of South Asia, particularly in terms of the Ashvins and the personified devas. One list based on Book 2 of the Aitereya Brahmana is:- Devas personified: Indra, Varuna, Mitra, Aryaman, Bhaga, Amsha, Vidhata, Tvashtr, Pushan, Vivasvat, Savitr, Vishnu
- Devas as abstractions or inner principles: Ananda, Vijnana, Manas, Prana, Vac, Atma, and five manifestations of Rudra – Ishana, Tatpurusha, Aghora, Vamadeva, Sadyojata
- Devas as forces or principles of nature – Prithvi, Agni, Antariksha, Jala, Vayu, Dyaus, Surya, Nakshatra, Soma
- Devas as guides or creative energy – Vasatkara, Prajapati
The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad describes the existence of these deities with a different lineup: