The Forgotten Deities of Rig Veda

The religious belief that the Aryans brought to India, which formed the foundation of Hinduism, was starkly different from what Hindus practise. Just as the word ’Hindu’ cannot be found in any of the Aryan scriptures, the gods and goddesses venerated in Hinduism are absent in the religious literature of their ancestors. For instance, Rama and Krishna, the most popular incarnations or avataras of Visnu, widely worshipped by Hindus of the modern age, are missing in the Vedas. The concept of the incarnation of gods cannot be found in the four Vedas. Moreover, Visnu of the Veda is not the four-handed god who preserves the universe. It is an epithet of the Sun. Similarly, the authors of the Veda were unaware of the existence of the destroyer-god Siva, though they spoke about Rudra, the divinity of thunder. Brahmā of the Veda is not the creator of the world. It is the name of the high priest of sacrificial ceremonies. The ancient Aryan gods lost their prominence with the advent of the Purānas. New gods and goddesses arrived at the scene while the ancient deities passed into oblivion. A few reappeared with new features and roles. ’THE FORGOTTEN DEITIES OF RIG VEDA’ tells you how different the Aryan religion was from Hinduism as we know it today.