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T – God / M – Man
Astrological Mars and the Norse God Tyr
Mannus, according to the Roman writer Tacitus, was a figure in the creation myths of the Germanic tribes. Tacitus is the only source of these myths. Tacitus wrote that Mannus was the son of Tuisto and the progenitor of the three Germanic tribes Ingaevones, Herminones and Istvaeones. The names Mannus and Tuisto/Tuisco seem to have some relation to Proto-Germanic Mannaz, “man” and Tiwaz, “Tyr, the god”.
Chaoskampf
Ninurta was a Sumerian and the Akkadian god of hunting and war. He was worshipped in Babylonia and Assyria and in Lagash he was identified with the city god Ningirsu. In older transliteration the name is rendered Ninib and Ninip, and in early commentary he was sometimes portrayed as a solar deity.
In Nippur, Ninurta was worshiped as part of a triad of deities including his father, Enlil and his mother, Ninlil. In variant mythology, his mother is said to be the harvest goddess Ninhursag. Ninurta often appears holding a bow and arrow, a sickle sword, or a mace named Sharur: Sharur is capable of speech in the Sumerian legend “Deeds and Exploits of Ninurta” and can take the form of a winged lion and may represent an archetype for the later Shedu.
In another legend, Ninurta battles a birdlike monster called Imdugud (Akkadian: Anzû), a lesser divinity or monster in several Mesopotamian religions. Anzû was seen as a massive bird who can breathe fire and water, although Anzû is alternately seen as a lion-headed eagle (like a reverse griffin). He was conceived by the pure waters of the Apsu and the wide Earth, or as son of Siris, the patron of beer who is conceived of as a demon, which is not necessarily evil.
A Babylonian version relates how the monster Anzû steals the Tablets of Destiny from Enlil. The Tablets of Destiny were believed to contain the details of fate and the future. Ninurta slays each of the monsters later known as the “Slain Heroes”. Eventually, Anzû is killed by Ninurta who delivers the Tablet of Destiny to his father, Enlil.
In Mesopotamian religion (Sumerian, Assyrian, Akkadian and Babylonian), Tiamat is a primordial goddess of the ocean, mating with Abzû (the god of fresh water) to produce younger gods. She is the symbol of the chaos of primordial creation, depicted as a woman, she represents the beauty of the feminine, depicted as the glistening one. Some sources identify her with images of a sea serpent or dragon.
It is suggested that there are two parts to the Tiamat mythos, the first in which Tiamat is a creator goddess, through a “Sacred marriage” between salt and fresh water, peacefully creating the cosmos through successive generations. In the second “Chaoskampf” Tiamat is considered the monstrous embodiment of primordial chaos.
In the Enûma Elish, the Babylonian epic of creation, she gives birth to the first generation of deities; her husband, Apsu, correctly assuming they are planning to kill him and usurp his throne, later makes war upon them and is killed.
Enraged, she, too, wars upon her husband’s murderers, taking on the form of a massive sea dragon, she is then slain by Enki’s son, the storm-god Marduk, but not before she had brought forth the monsters of the Mesopotamian pantheon, including the first dragons, whose bodies she filled with “poison instead of blood”. Marduk then forms heavens and the earth from her divided body.
Tiamat possessed the Tablet of Destinies and in the primordial battle she gave them to Kingu, meaning “unskilled laborer,” the deity she — after the murder of his father Abzu — had chosen as her lover and the leader of her host, and who was also one of her children.
Tiamat gave Kingu the 3 Tablets of Destiny, which he wore as a breastplate and which gave him great power. She placed him as the general of her army. The deities gathered in terror, but Anu, (replaced later, first by Enlil and, in the late version that has survived after the First Dynasty of Babylon, by Marduk, the son of Ea), first extracting a promise that he would be revered as “king of the gods”, overcame her, armed with the arrows of the winds, a net, a club, and an invincible spear.
Like Tiamat, Kingu was eventually killed, and his blood was mixed with earth and used the clay to mold the first human beings that would act as the servant of the younger Igigi deities, while Tiamat’s body created the earth and the skies. Kingu then went to live in the underworld kingdom of Ereshkigal, along with the other deities who had sided with Tiamat.
The principal theme of the epic is the justified elevation of ove god to command over all the deities. The Tiamat myth is one of the earliest recorded versions of the Chaoskampf, the battle between a culture hero and a chthonic or aquatic monster, serpent or dragon.
Robert Graves considered Tiamat’s death by Marduk as evidence for his hypothesis of an ancient shift in power from a matriarchal society to a patriarchy. Grave’s ideas were later developed into the Great Goddess theory by Marija Gimbutas, Merlin Stone and others.
The theory suggests Tiamat and other ancient monster figures were presented as former supreme deities of peaceful, woman-centered religions that were turned into monsters when violent. Their defeat at the hands of a male hero corresponded to the manner in which male-dominated religions overthrew ancient society.
Akitu or Akitum (Sumerian: ezen á.ki.tum, akiti-šekinku, á.ki.ti.še.gur₁₀.ku₅, lit. “the barley-cutting”, akiti-šununum, lit. “barley-sowing”; Akkadian: akitu or rêš-šattim, “head of the year”) was a spring festival in ancient Mesopotamia.The Babylonian Akitu festival has played a pivotal role in the development of theories of religion, myth and ritual, yet the purpose of the festival remains a point of contention among both historians of religion and Assyriologists.
The name is from the Sumerian for “barley”, originally marking two festivals celebrating the beginning of each of the two half-years of the Sumerian calendar, marking the sowing of barley in autumn and the cutting of barley in spring. In Babylonian religion it came to be dedicated to Marduk’s victory over Tiamat.
A corresponding festival is the Hattian spring festival Puruli (EZEN Puruliyas), held at Nerik, dedicated to the earth goddess Hannahanna, who is married to a new king. The central ritual of the Puruli festival is dedicated to the destruction of the dragon Illuyanka by the storm god Teshub. Also compared are the Canaanite Poem of Baal and Psalms 93 and 29.
Ymir / Tuisto (Tyr)
In Norse mythology, Ymir, Aurgelmir, Brimir, or Bláinn is the ancestor of all jötnar. Taken together, several stanzas from four poems collected in the Poetic Edda refer to Ymir as a primeval being who was born from venom that dripped from the icy rivers Élivágar and lived in the grassless void of Ginnungagap. Ymir birthed a male and female from the pits of his arms, and his legs together begat a six-headed being.
The gods Odin, Vili and Vé fashioned the Earth (elsewhere personified as a goddess; Jörð) from his flesh, from his blood the ocean, from his bones the hills, from his hair the trees, from his brains the clouds, from his skull the heavens, and from his eyebrows the middle realm in which mankind lives, Midgard. In addition, one stanza relates that the dwarfs were given life by the gods from Ymir’s flesh and blood (or the Earth and sea).
In the Prose Edda, a narrative is provided that draws from, adds to, and differs from the accounts in the Poetic Edda. According to the Prose Edda, after Ymir was formed from the elemental drops, so too was Auðumbla, a primeval cow, whose milk Ymir fed from. The Prose Edda also states that three gods killed Ymir; the brothers Odin, Vili and Vé, and details that, upon Ymir’s death, his blood caused an immense flood.
Scholars have debated as to what extent Snorri’s account of Ymir is an attempt to synthesize a coherent narrative for the purpose of the Prose Edda and to what extent Snorri drew from traditional material outside of the corpus that he cites.
By way of historical linguistics and comparative mythology, scholars have linked Ymir to Tuisto, the Proto-Germanic being attested by Tacitus in his 1st century AD work Germania and have identified Ymir as an echo of a primordial being reconstructed in Proto-Indo-European mythology.
According to Tacitus’s Germania (98 CE), Tuisto (or Tuisco) is the divine ancestor of the Germanic peoples. The figure remains the subject of some scholarly discussion, largely focused upon etymological connections and comparisons to figures in later (particularly Norse) Germanic mythology. In the larger Indo-European pantheon, Tuisto is equated to the Indic/Vedic Tvastar.
The Germania manuscript corpus contains two primary variant readings of the name. Root of the word is from the Hindu Vedic ‘Tvasthar’ – father of Manu. The most frequently occurring, Tuisto, is commonly connected to the Proto-Germanic root *tvai- “two” and its derivative *tvis- “twice” or “doubled”, thus giving Tuisto the core meaning “double”.
Any assumption of a gender inference is entirely conjectural, as the tvia/tvis roots are also the roots of any number of other concepts/words in the Germanic languages. Take for instance the Germanic “twist”, which, in all but the English has the primary meaning of “dispute/conflict”.
The second variant of the name, occurring originally in manuscript E, reads Tuisco. One proposed etymology for this variant reconstructs a Proto-Germanic *tiwisko and connects this with Proto-Germanic *Tiwaz, giving the meaning “son of Tiu”. This interpretation would thus make Tuisco the son of the sky-god (Proto-Indo-European *Dyeus) and the earth-goddess.
Connections have been proposed between the 1st century figure of Tuisto and the hermaphroditic primeval being Ymir in later Norse mythology, attested in 13th century sources, based upon etymological and functional similarity.
Meyer (1907) sees the connection as so strong, that he considers the two to be identical. Lindow (2001), while mindful of the possible semantic connection between Tuisto and Ymir, notes an essential functional difference: while Ymir is portrayed as an “essentially … negative figure” – Tuisto is described as being “celebrated” (celebrant) by the early Germanic peoples in song, with Tacitus reporting nothing negative about Tuisto.
Jacob (2005) attempts to establish a genealogical relationship between Tuisto and Ymir based on etymology and a comparison with (post-)Vedic Indian mythology: as Tvastr, through his daughter Saranyū and her husband Vivaswān, is said to have been the grandfather of the twins Yama and Yami, so Jacob argues that the Germanic Tuisto (assuming a connection with Tvastr) must originally have been the grandfather of Ymir (cognate to Yama).
Incidentally, Indian mythology also places Manu (cognate to Germanic Mannus), the Vedic progenitor of mankind, as a son of Vivaswān, thus making him the brother of Yama/Ymir.
Tacitus relates that “ancient songs” (Latin carminibus antiquis) of the Germanic peoples celebrated Tuisto as “a god, born of the earth” (deum terra editum). These songs further attributed to him a son, Mannus, who in turn had three sons, the offspring of whom were referred to as Ingaevones, Herminones and Istaevones, living near the Ocean (proximi Oceano), in the interior (medii), and the remaining parts (ceteri) of the geographical region of Germania, respectively.
Tacitus’s report falls squarely within the ethnographic tradition of the classical world, which often fused anthropogony, ethnogony, and theogony together into a synthetic whole. The succession of father-son-three sons parallels occurs in both Germanic and non-Germanic Indo-European areas. The essential characteristics of the myth have been theorized as ultimately originated in Proto-Indo-European society around 2,000 BCE.
Tyr
Fenris represents the old world order – Tyr reorganized our world and created what we have today – to do this he lost his arm – he did it on behalf of the community – he is a real leader – he gave him self.
In Norse mythology, Heimdallr is a god who possesses the resounding horn Gjallarhorn, owns the golden-maned horse Gulltoppr, has gold teeth, and is the son of Nine Mothers. He may be a personification of or connected to the world tree Yggdrasil. He is described as “the whitest of the gods”, and is said to be the originator of social classes among humanity.
Heimdallr is attested as possessing foreknowledge, keen eyesight and hearing, and keeps watch for the onset of Ragnarök while drinking fine mead in his dwelling Himinbjörg, located where the burning rainbow bridge Bifröst meets heaven. Heimdallr and Loki are foretold to kill one another during the events of Ragnarök.
Tyr (The Sun) is the ruling planet of Leo and is exalted in Aries
Heimdall (Uranus) is the ruling planet of Aquarius and is exalted in Scorpio
Sun: Leo is detriment to Aquarius
Uranus: Aquarius is detriment to Leo
Before the discovery of Uranus, Saturn was regarded as the ruling planet of Aquarius alongside Capricorn of course, which is the preceding sign. Many traditional types of astrologers prefer Saturn as the planetary ruler for both Capricorn and Aquarius.
Heimdallr is a god who possesses the resounding horn Gjallarhorn (Old Norse “yelling horn” or “the loud sounding horn”), a horn associated with the god Heimdallr, who is the one who guards the social order. The Gjallarhorn can be heard in all worlds. After the enemies of the gods will gather at the plain Vígríðr, Heimdallr will stand and mightily blow into Gjallarhorn. The gods will awake and assemble together at the thing.
Bifröst is a burning rainbow bridge that reaches between Midgard (Earth) and Asgard, the realm of the gods. Alternately it is refered to as Ásbrú (Old Norse “Æsir’s bridge”). According to the Prose Edda, the bridge ends in heaven at Himinbjörg, the residence of the god Heimdallr, who guards it from the jötnar. It is a parallel between Bifröst, which he notes is “a bridge between earth and heaven, or earth and the world of the gods”, and the bridge Gjallarbrú, “a bridge between earth and the underworld, or earth and the world of the dead.
The bridge’s destruction during Ragnarök by the forces of Muspell is foretold. The denizens of Muspelheim were usually referred to as the Eldjötnar (or Eldthursar, Eldþursar — “fire giants”. Muspelheim is fire; and the land to the North, Niflheim, is ice. The two mixed and created water from the melting ice in Ginnungagap. The sun and the stars originate from Muspelheim.
According to the Ragnarök prophecies the sons of Muspell will break the Bifröst bridge, signaling the end of times. The etymology of “Muspelheim” is uncertain, but may come from Mund-spilli, “world-destroyers”, “wreck of the world”.
The sons of Muspel direct their course to the plain which is called Vígríðr or Óskópnir, a large field foretold to host a battle between the forces of the gods and the forces of Surtr as part of the events of Ragnarök. It is foretold that it is the location of the future death of several deities (and their enemies) before the world is engulfed in flames and reborn.
This will be mark the beginning of Ragnarök (Old Norse “Fate of the Gods” and “Twilight of the Gods”), a series of future events, including a great battle, foretold to ultimately result in the death of a number of major figures (including the gods Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdallr, and Loki), the occurrence of various natural disasters, and the subsequent submersion of the world in water.
Other terms used to refer to the events surrounding Ragnarök include aldar rök (aldar means age, “end of an age”), þá er regin deyja (“when the gods die”) unz um rjúfask regin (“when the gods will be destroyed”) aldar rof (“destruction of the age”), regin þrjóta (“end of the gods”), and, þá er Muspellz-synir herja (“when the sons of Muspell move into battle”). In Old English and Middle English the term Crack of Doom was used, which then was transferred to the Christian Day of Judgement.
Afterward, the world will resurface anew and fertile, the surviving and returning gods will meet, and the world will be repopulated by two human survivors. Eight of the Aesir/Vanir survive the great cataclysm of Ragnarok. These Gods are Widar, Wali, Magni, Mothi, Baeldag, Hothr, Hoenir and Njord. Seven of these Gods are Aesir and one a Van.
Víðarr (Old Norse, possibly “wide ruler”, sometimes anglicized as Vidar, Vithar, Vidarr, and Vitharr) is a god among the Æsir associated with revenge. Víðarr is described as the son of Odin and the jötunn Gríðr, and is foretold to avenge his father’s death by killing the wolf Fenrir at Ragnarök, a conflict which he is described as surviving.
Víðarr represents a cosmic figure. He is aligned with both vertical space, due to his placement of his foot on the wolf’s lower jaw and his hand on the wolf’s upper jaw, and horizontal space, due to his wide step and strong shoe. By killing the wolf, Víðarr keeps the wolf from destroying the cosmos, and the cosmos can thereafter be restored after the destruction resulting from Ragnarök. Thus he is a spatial god. Víðarr, trying to mediate the dispute with Loki, urges the other Aesir to “grant Loki his space” at the feasting table. This play on Víðarr’s spatiality would have been understood by an audience familiar with the God.
Víðarr’s spatiality is seen in the Vishnu of the Vedic traditions. In the legend of Bali and Vishnu, Vishnu (in the form of Vamana) tricks the malevolent king Bali, who has secured dominion over the whole Earth, by making Bali promise to grant Vamana all the land he can cover in three paces. Vamana turns himself into a giant and strides across all of heaven and Earth, taking Bali’s head and granting him immortality in lieu of taking the last pace.
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Týr is a Germanic god associated with law and heroic glory in Norse mythology, portrayed as one-handed. According to the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, at one stage the gods decided to shackle the Fenris wolf (Fenrir), but the beast broke every chain they put upon him. Eventually they had the dwarves make them a magical ribbon called Gleipnir. Fenrir sensed the gods’ deceit and refused to be bound with it unless one of them put his hand in the wolf’s mouth.
Týr, known for his great wisdom and courage, agreed, and the other gods bound the wolf. After Fenrir had been bound by the gods, he struggled to try to break the rope. Fenrir could not break the ribbon and, enraged, bit Týr’s right hand off. When the gods saw that Fenrir was bound they all rejoiced, except Týr.
Fenrir would remain bound until the day of Ragnarök. As a result of this deed, Týr is called the “Leavings of the Wolf”; which is to be understood as a poetic kenning for glory. As a consequence, however, his name is also associated with perjury. During the battle at Ragnarök, Fenrir swallows Odin whole. According to the Prose version of Ragnarök, Týr is destined to kill and be killed by Garm, the guard dog of Hel.
The t-rune ᛏ is named after Týr, who is the god of law and justice, and was identified with this god. The reconstructed Proto-Germanic name is *Tîwaz or *Teiwaz. It stands for justice and sacrifice. It is the rune of the balance and justice ruled from a higher rationality. The rune of sacrifice of the individual (self) for well-being of the whole (society).
Contrast Tyr’s lineage with the Greco-Roman Mars, who was the child of Zeus’s wife, Hera, and never held a position as the Skyfather or Allfather. Tyr has other connections to the sky: one of the Vikings’ names for the North Star in their day was “Tir”. The star Tir was thought to be at the top of the world axis, which “keeps the cosmic forces in polarized order”.
Norse dragonships and merchanters steered by the stars at night, so the god Tyr was very likely associated with the ability to guide, and with the qualities immortalized in Shakespeare’s phrase, “fixed and constant as the Northern star”—not necessarily a trait of Graeco-Roman Mars, who was more volatile.
Tyr is related to the north star in the Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem, around which the fixed stars in the night sky appear to rotate. Ancient seamen used Polaris as their main navigational aid in their long journeys, and the symbol as an arrow pointing upward is perhaps made in reference to this.
This symbolizes the positive ordering of the cosmos and humankind through law and justice and our moral compass. Chaos comes to order through the attributes of awakened consciousness and the guiding principles concerned with carrying out such an awakening.
Tyr is a one-handed god with a long history, and his hand was sacrificed to trick the wolf, Fenris, into being chained. Tiwaz is just victory according to the law of accumulated right past action. To rule justly, one is asked to make many self-sacrifices, and Tiwaz can develop the power of positive self-sacrifice and temper over-sacrifice. The belief that courage and a right cause carries the day is governed by Tiwaz. It is the common justice of the people rather than the use of law by tyrants (a word that uses Tyr as a root)
Tiwaz will bring about a correct balancing of the scales so that you are assured a fair hearing and fair decision. Do not be thrown off balance by the chaos of your environment. Like the North star, you must remain true and calm, assert your case with confidence and let the energies of your orlog assisted by the force of Tiwaz bring about a right solution.
Should you need reassurances that there is value in building up positive patterns in advance of emergency, this is the time you will see its greatest manifestation. You have earned the right to a fair and just decision. Tiwaz will be used to bring fair distribution of the earned energies from your ancestral stream.
Tiwaz can be used to bring about a missionary zeal for a righteous cause. The most powerful insight we can draw from Tiwaz is that we must target our energies in the single most correct place, just as the arrow or spear symbolized by the rune must. Call upon Tiwaz for justice.
Purusha
Purusha is a complex concept whose meaning evolved in Vedic and Upanishadic times. Depending on source and historical timeline, it means the cosmic man or Self, Consciousness, and Universal principle. In early Vedas, Purusa meant a cosmic man whose sacrifice by the gods created all life. This was one of many creation theories discussed in the Vedas. The idea parallels Norse Ymir, with the myth’s origin in Proto-Indo-European religion.
In the Upanishads, the Purusa concept no longer meant a being or cosmic man. The meaning evolved to an abstract essence of Self, Spirit and the Universal Principle that is eternal, indestructible, without form and all pervasive. The Purusa concept is explained with the concept of Prakrti in the Upanishads.
The universe is envisioned, in these ancient Sanskrit texts, as a combination of perceivable material reality and non-perceivable, non-material laws and principles of nature. Material reality, or Prakrti, is everything that has changed, can change and is subject to cause and effect.
Purusa is the Universal principle that is unchanging, uncaused but is present everywhere and the reason why Prakrti changes, evolves all the time and why there is cause and effect. Purusa is what connects everything and everyone, according to various schools of Hinduism.
Purusha is a complex concept, whose meaning evolved over time in the philosophical traditions now called as Hinduism. During the Vedic period, Purusa concept was one of several theories offered for the creation of universe. Purusa, in Rigveda, was described as a being, who becomes a sacrificial victim of gods, and whose sacrifice creates all life forms including human beings.
In the Upanishads and later texts of Hindu philosophy, the Purusa concept moved away from the Vedic definition of Purusa and was no longer a person, cosmic man or entity. Instead, the concept flowered into a more complex abstraction.
Puru
Short version
King Puru was a Puranic king and the youngest son of king Yayati and Sharmishtha and one of ancestors of the Pandavas and Kauravas. In the nineteenth chapter of book nine of the Bhagavata Purana, Puru is described as having four brothers; Yadu, Turvasu, Druhyu and Anu.
He exchanges his youth for old age of his father Yayati when Yayati gets cursed by Shukracharya. In return Yayati makes him his descendant though he was youngest of all. His son and successor is named as his son was Práchinvat; his son was Pravíra; his son was Manasyu.
In the Mahabharata – Adi Parva, he is said to have inherited his kingdom in the Gangatic plain. He is said to have three mighty heroes as sons by his wife Paushti; Pravira, and Raudraswa. Pravira succeeded Puru and was in turn succeeded by his son Manasyu.
Puru ruled from the centre as a supreme World Emperor or King of Kings. This also showed his supreme power and displays the right of people named Puru. His dynasty becomes the Puru vamsha which was later renamed as Kuru Vamsha to which Pandavas and Kauravas belong.
Another Puru is mentioned as a king in the Rigveda and as the father of Adityas, married to Aditi, living and ruling over and area of the Saraswati river. In Hinduism, Ādityas (meaning “of Aditi”, refers to the offspring of Aditi. The name, Aditya, is used in the singular to mean the Sun God, Surya. The Bhagavata Purana lists a total of twelve Adityas as Sun-gods. In each month of the year a different Aditya is said to shine. Each of these Adityas is a different expression of Lord Vishnu in the form of the Sun-God.
A King Puru is also mentioned in Korean mythology as the son of a heavenly king called Haemosu who ruled the Buyeo kingdom. The Korean King Puru went on to succeed his divine father and ruled in peace and prosperity.
Long version
In Hindu mythology, Vrishparva was a Danava king with great powers and magic. He fought and won many wars against Indra with the help of his main priest Shukracharya (Sanskrit: Śukra, meaning “lucid, clear, bright”), who in Vedic mythology was the guru of the Asuras, while in medieval mythology and Hindu astrology, refers to the planet Venus.
Historically there was little difference between Asuras and Devtas during the times of Veda. Many of them were highly regarded, and comparable to necessary forces of nature. In post Vedic era especially in the narratives of Puranas many Asuras became synonymous with trouble makers, who come into conflict with Mahadev Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma and Indra wreaking havoc on civilizations.
There are some famous Asuras-Devtas conflicts including Samudra Manthan regarding churning of the Ocean. There are some famous Asuras such as Vritra-Asur, Bana-Asur, and Bhasma-Asura who challenge Adityas and specifically Indra, the king of Devtas.
Going by Sanskrit definitions Asura is opposite of Sura. Sura is anything that is in harmony, in tune with laws of nature, called eternal truth or Sanatan Dharam. A-Sura is a being or force of nature which is chaotic, disorderly, and out of tune.
Avestan Ahura derives from Indo-Iranian Asura, also attested in an Indian context as RigVedic Asura. Avestan Daivas are considered synonymous to Vedic Devtas, or Adityas. Vedas and Zoroastrian Avesta have a common name Ahura-Mazda, which may refer to some Vedic God.
Sometimes in Rigveda some demigods or devatas are worshipped as “asura”, which in Zoroastrianism is Ahura-Mazda, who is commonly considered a link between Avestan Zoroastrianism and Asuras of Vedic literature, however it must be noted that there is no one specifically called Ahura Mazda in the Vedas.
Additionally as suggested by the phonetic similarity to the Old Norse Gods called æsirs, Indo-Iranian Asura may have an even earlier Indo-European root. Aesirs are the Norse gods whose region became known as Asia, the land of Aesirs.
For evolutionary reasons Asuras and Devtas fought great battles. Adityas, sons of Rishi Kashyap and Aditi always followed the guidance of Trimurti, or the Trinty of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and are responsible for proper functioning of the universe.
Asuras challenged their authority at various occasions. Most significantly there are constant battles for the Elixir of Immortality, called Amrit, between the two. This could explain why Avestan Asura-Mazda advised his followers to stay away from Daivas or Vedic Devtas, calling them untrustworthy and unscrupulous shining beings to be avoided at all cost.
Devtas including Adityas are considered benevolent, and worshiped in the Vedas. There are various types of Devtas in Hinduism and Buddhism, all of them are venerable.
Shukracharya, alo known as Asuracharya, was a son of Vasishtha, of the third Manu, one of the saptarshi. According to the Mahabharata he divided himself into two, one half becoming the knowledge source for the Devas (gods) and the other half being the knowledge source of the Asuras (demons).
In the Puranic mythology he is is famed as one with the knowledge that raises the dead back to life, something that helps the violent evil return back to life even after the gods and the forces of good destroy them; this knowledge is sought by the gods and is ultimately gained by them.
In the Mahabharata, Shukracharya is mentioned as one of the mentors of Devavrata, also known as Gangaputra and Bhishma, having taught him political science in his youth. Bhishma was an unparalleled archer and warrior of his time. He also handed down the Vishnu Sahasranama to Yudhishthira when he was on his death bed (of arrows) in the battlefield of Kurukshetra.
Vrishparva made many attempts to kill Kacha, the son of Brihaspati, who in ancient Hindu literature is a Vedic era sage who counsels the gods, while in some medieval texts the word refers to the planet Jupiter.
Sharmishtha, the daughter of Vrishparva, was a friend of Devayani for whom she later becomes a servant. Devayani was the daughter of Shukracharya and his wife Jayanti, daughter of Indra, the king of the devas (gods) and ruler of Svarga (heaven), and his consort Shachi.
Devayani was married to Yayati, son of Nahusha and gave birth to two sons Yadu and Turvasu. Yadu is one of the five Indo-Aryan tribes (panchajana, panchakrishtya or panchamanusha) mentioned in the Rig Veda. Devayani took Sharmishtha with her as her maid in punishment for her throwing of Devayani into a well during a furious argument.
Yayati was a Puranic king and the son of King Nahusha and Ashokasundari. He was one of the ancestors of Pandavas. He had conquered the whole world and was the Chakravartin Samrat (Universal Monarch or World Emperor), an ancient Indian term used to refer to an ideal universal ruler who rules ethically and benevolently over the entire world.
Such a ruler’s reign is called sarvabhauma. It is a bahuvrīhi, figuratively meaning “whose wheels are moving”, in the sense of “whose chariot is rolling everywhere without obstruction”. It can also be analysed as an ‘instrumental bahuvrīhi: “through whom the wheel is moving” in the meaning of “through whom the Dharmachakra (“Wheel of the Dharma) is turning”.
In Buddhism, the chakravarti came to be considered the secular counterpart of a buddha. In general, the term applies to temporal as well as spiritual kingship and leadership, particularly in Buddhism and Jainism. In Hinduism, the term generally denotes a powerful ruler whose dominion extended to the entire earth.
Yayati marries Devayani and takes Sharmishtha as his mistress on her request. After hearing of his relationship with Sharmishtha, Devayani complains to her father Shukracharya, who in turn curses Yayati to old age in the prime of life for inflicting such pain upon his daughter. His story finds mention in the Mahabharata-Adi Parva and also Bhagavata Purana.
However, he later relents a little, telling Yayati that if he can persuade one of his sons to swap ages with him he will be able to escape the curse and regain his lost youth for a while. Yayati asks his sons if one of them will give up his youth to rejuvenate his father, but all refuse except the youngest, Puru (one of his sons by Sharmishtha).
In the words of the story, Yayati enjoys all the pleasures of the senses ‘for a thousand years’ and, by experiencing passion to the full, comes to realise its utter futility, saying : “Know this for certain, … not all the food, wealth and women of the world can appease the lust of a single man of uncontrolled senses. Craving for sense-pleasures is not removed but aggravated by indulgence even as ghee poured into fire increases it….One who aspires to peace and happiness should instantly renounce craving and seek instead that which neither grows old, nor ceases – no matter how old the body may become.”
Having found wisdom by following the road of excess, Yayati gratefully returns the youth of his son Puru and takes back his old age in return, renouncing the world to spend his remaining days as a forest ascetic. His spiritual practices are, at long last, blessed with success and, alone in the deep woods, he is rewarded with ascension to svarga – the heavenly realm of the righteous, ruled by Indra, that is but one step below the ultimate liberation of moksha.
In grateful recognition of Puru’s filial devotion, Yayati makes Puru his legitimate heir and it is from the line of Puru – later King Puru – that the Kuru dynasty, the name of a Vedic Aryan tribal union in northern Iron Age India, encompassing the modern-day states of Delhi, Haryana, Uttarakhand and western part of Uttar Pradesh, later arises.
Kuru, which appeared in the Middle Vedic period (1200-850 BCE) and developed into the first recorded state-level society in South Asia around 1000 BCE, corresponds archaeologically to the Painted Grey Ware culture. It decisively changed the Vedic heritage of the early Vedic period, arranging the Vedic hymns into collections, and developing new rituals which gained their position in Indian civilization as the orthodox srauta rituals, which contributed to the so-called “classical synthesis” or “Hindu synthesis”.
It became the dominant political and cultural center of the middle Vedic Period during the reigns of Parikshit and Janamejaya, but it declined in importance during the Late Vedic period (c. 850-500 BCE), and had become “something of a backwater” by the Mahajanapada period in the 5th century BCE. However, traditions and legends about the Kurus continued into the post-Vedic period, providing the basis for the Mahabharata epic.
King Puru was a Puranic king and one of ancestors of the Pandavas and Kauravas. Together the brothers fought and prevailed in a great war against their cousins the Kauravas, which came to be known as the Kurukshetra War.
In the Mahabharata, Puru is said to have inherited his kingdom in the Gangatic plain. He is said to have three mighty heroes as sons by his wife Paushti; Pravira, and Raudraswa. Pravira succeeded Puru and was in turn succeeded by his son Manasyu.
He ruled from the centre as a supreme World Emperor or King of Kings. His dynasty becomes the Puru vamsha which was later renamed as Kuru Vamsha to which Pandavas and Kauravas belong. Another Puru is mentioned as a king in the Rigveda and as the father of Adityas, married to Aditi, living and ruling over and area of the Saraswati river.
In Hinduism, Ādityas, meaning “of Aditi”, refers to the offspring of Aditi. The name, Aditya, is used in the singular to mean the Sun God, Surya. The Bhagavata Purana lists a total of twelve Adityas as Sun-gods. In each month of the year a different Aditya is said to shine. Each of these Adityas is a different expression of Lord Vishnu in the form of the Sun-God.
In each month of the year, it is a different Aditya who shines as the Sun-God. As Indra, Surya destroys the enemies of the gods. As Dhata, he creates living beings. As Parjanya, he showers down rain. As Tvashta, he lives in the trees and herbs. As Pusha, he makes foodgrains grow. As Aryama, he is in the wind. As Bhaga, he is in the body of all living beings. As Vivasvana, he is in fire and helps to cook food. As Vishnu, he destroys the enemies of the gods. As Amshumana, he is again in the wind. As Varuna, he is in the waters and As Mitra, he is in the moon and in the oceans.
Adityas are responsible for proper functioning of the universe and in Hindu cosmology they are given lordship over celestial constellations, called Nakshtras in Jyotish. Nakshatras are forces of universal intelligence which are intertwined with the birth-death cycle of life, identity of all created beings, events and day to day consciousness in our lives. Aditays manage the Shakti of the nakshatras.
The Adityas have been described in the Rig Veda as bright and pure as streams of water, free from all guile and falsehood, blameless, perfect. This class of deities has been seen as upholding the movables and immovable Dharma. Adityas are beneficent gods who act as protectors of all beings, who are provident and guard the world of spirits and protect the world.
In the form of Mitra-Varuna, the Adityas are true to the eternal Law and act as the exactors of debt. In present-day usage in Sanskrit, the term Aditya has been made singular in contrast to Vedic Adityas, and are being used synonymously with Surya, the Sun.
The Vayu Purana, the Brahmanda Purana, the Shiva Purana and the Harivamsa Purana mention that Yayati possessed a divine chariot which could travel in any direction unimpeded. It is variously mentioned that Yayati acquired it from Shukracharya, Indra or from Shiva.
The Harivamsha Purana mentions that with the speed of this chariot, Yayati was able to conquer the earth and the heavens in merely six days. He had also vanquished the Asuras many times.
Yayati gave this chariot to his youngest son, Puru who succeeded his father as king. The chariot became a family heirloom among the descendants of Puru. The chariot however vanished due to a curse incurred by the Paurava King Janamejaya when he slew a Brahmana in his hatred.
Many years later, Indra once more gave that same chariot to King Vasu Uparichara, another descendant of Puru. Uparichara’s grandson, Jarasandha of Magadha, inherited that chariot. Jarasandha was eventually defeated and slain by the Pandava Bhima who gave the chariot to his cousin, Lord Krishna.
A King Puru is also mentioned in Korean mythology as the son of a heavenly king called Haemosu who ruled the Buyeo kingdom. The Korean King Puru went on to succeed his divine father and ruled in peace and prosperity.
There is a story that when he grew old in age without any children, he was led to a large stone by a horse. When the horse began to cry in front of the stone, the king had it moved and found a frog bathed in a golden light. The frog quickly turned into a handsome boy, which Puru interpreted as a sign from heaven and made him crown prince.
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