Divinity Atlas

Sacred Correspondences
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15th century BCE

This page groups deities by the earliest year a surviving written or inscribed source places them, sorting gods by how far back their documented worship can actually be traced. Archaeologists call this kind of earliest possible date a terminus post quem, which Wikipedia defines as "the earliest date the event may have happened or the item was in existence." Browsing by first attestation separates deities known from the oldest surviving records from ones who only appear in much later texts.

Facts
Attestation
Era of Attestation
The oldest layer is attested in the Rig Veda, placed on linguistic grounds around the middle of the second millennium BCE. The gods of classical temple worship take their mature form in the epics and Puranas of the first millennium CE, and are worshipped today. 2
Veneration Today
Objects of daily worship for hundreds of millions of people. 2
Overview
What Defines This Grouping
The deities of the Hindu traditions, from the Vedic powers of the oldest hymns to the gods of temple and household worship today. The grouping deliberately holds together what the tradition holds together: the many gods of devotional practice and the philosophical position that they are aspects of one reality. Neither is treated here as the correct reading. 2
Directory
Category
Deities 1
Comparison
Primary Academic Discipline
Indology 3
Learn More
The gods of the Hindu pantheon

This group gathers the deities of Hinduism, one of the largest and most internally varied bodies of divine figures in the atlas. Hindu theology ranges across the spectrum from the many-god image of popular devotion to the strict non-dualism of the philosophers, for whom the countless gods are aspects of a single reality, Brahman. Both readings are held within the tradition and neither is treated here as the correct one.

The browser will find the great gods of the classical and Puranic tradition (Vishnu the preserver and his avatars, Shiva the destroyer and transformer, Brahma the creator), alongside the goddess in her many forms (Devi, Durga, Kali, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Parvati), the elephant-headed Ganesha, and the older Vedic powers such as Indra, Agni and Surya who stand behind them.

Vedic roots and living worship

The layers matter and the entries mark them. The oldest figures belong to the Vedic hymns of the second millennium BCE; the familiar gods of temple worship take their mature shape later, in the epics and the Puranas. Some Vedic deities faded as others rose, and regional and sectarian traditions (Vaishnava, Shaiva, Shakta) each place a different figure at the centre.

These are objects of living devotion for hundreds of millions of people. The atlas records each figure's myths, iconography, consorts and vehicles, and the domains and correspondences attached to them, describing what the tradition holds rather than adjudicating among its schools.

15th century BCE
Filter Results42 entries

Aditi

15th century BCE

Agni

15th century BCE

Ahir Budhnya

15th century BCE

Aja Ekapada

15th century BCE

Amsha

15th century BCE

Aryaman

15th century BCE

Ashvins

15th century BCE

Bhaga

15th century BCE

Bhumi Devi

15th century BCE

Brihaspati

15th century BCE

Dhatri

15th century BCE

Diti

15th century BCE

Ekapada

15th century BCE

Garuda

15th century BCE

Indra

15th century BCE

Kamadeva

15th century BCE

Lord Yama

15th century BCE

Martanda

15th century BCE

Nirriti

15th century BCE

Parjanya

15th century BCE

Prajapati

15th century BCE

Pushan

15th century BCE

Rati

15th century BCE

Rudra

15th century BCE

Saraswati

15th century BCE

Savitr

15th century BCE

Shiva

15th century BCE

Soma

15th century BCE

Surya

15th century BCE

The Adityas

15th century BCE

The Apas

15th century BCE

The Ashwini Kumaras

15th century BCE

The Pitris

15th century BCE

The Vasus

15th century BCE

The Vishvadevas

15th century BCE

Tvashtri

15th century BCE

Ushas

15th century BCE

Varuna

15th century BCE

Vayu

15th century BCE

Vishnu

15th century BCE

Vishvakarma

15th century BCE

Vishvarupa

15th century BCE
Sources
1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Tree
2. An Introduction to Hinduism
Gavin Flood, Cambridge University Press, 1996chs. 1-2View the Source
3. Wikipedia: Indology
WikipediaIndology, opening definition
Quote, Indology, opening definition
Indology is the academic study of Indian history and culture.
View the Source
Divinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptions
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