From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from Vâta)
Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses, see Vayu (disambiguation).
the wind[1]
Vayu Deva.jpg
Vayu, on his mount, the gazelle symbolizing swiftness
Devanagari वायु
Sanskrit Transliteration Vāyu
Affiliation Deva, Guardians of the directions
Mantra Om Vayuve namaha
Mount Gazelle

Vāyu (Sanskrit: वायु, IAST: Vāyu, Sanskrit pronunciation: [ʋɑːyu]; Malay: Bayu, Thai: พระพาย (Phra Phai)) is a primary Hindu deity, the Lord of the winds, the father of Bhima and the spiritual father of Lord Hanuman. He is also known as Vāta (वात), Pavana (पवन, the Purifier),[2] and sometimes Prāṇa (प्राण, the breath).



Sometimes the word "vayu," which is more generally used in the sense of the physical air or wind, is used as a synonym for "prāna".[3] There is however a separate set of five deities of Prāna (vital breath), Mukhya-Prāna being chief among them, so that, in Hindi,தமிழ்(Tamil) and other Indian languages, someone's death is stated as "his lives departed" (uske prān nikal gaye) rather than "his life departed." These five Vāyu deities, Prāna, Apāna, Vyāna, Udāna, and Samāna, control life (and the vital breath, circulatory system), the wind (respiratory system), touch/sensation (nervous system), digestion, and excretion.



In the Mahabharata, Bheema was the son of Vāyu and played a major role in the Kurukshetra war. He utilised his huge power and skill with the mace for supporting Dharma.

Hindu texts and philosophy[edit]




See also[edit]


  2. ^ a b Eva Rudy Jansen, Tony Langham (1993), The book of Hindu imagery: The Gods and their Symbols, Binkey Kok Publications, ISBN 90-74597-07-6, "... God of the wind ... also known as Vata or Pavan ... exceptional beauty ... moves on noisily in his shining coach ... white banner ..." 
  3. ^ Raju, P.T. (1954), "The concept of the spiritual in Indian thought", Philosophy East and West 4 (3): 195–213, doi:10.2307/1397554, JSTOR 1397554. 
  4. ^ Vijaya Ghose, Jaya Ramanathan, Renuka N. Khandekar (1992), Tirtha, the treasury of Indian expressions, CMC Limited, ISBN 978-81-900267-0-3, "... God of the winds ... Another name for Vayu is Vata (hence the present Hindi term for 'atmosphere, 'vatavaran). Also known as Pavana (the purifier), Vayu is lauded in both the ..." 
  5. ^ Sukumari Bhattacharji (1984), Literature in the Vedic age, K.P. Bagchi, "... The other atmospheric gods are his associates: Vayu-Vatah, Parjanya, the Rudras and the Maruts. All of them are fighters and destroyers, they are powerful and heroic ..."