Vayu-Vata
Avestan deity of wind and atmosphere
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vāyu-Vāta (or Vāta-Vāyu; Avestan: 𐬬𐬀𐬌𐬌𐬎-𐬬𐬁𐬙𐬀, romanized: Vāyu-Vāta, lit. 'air, wind, atmosphere', Avestan pronunciation: [ʋɑːju-ʋɑːt̪ə]) is the Avestan name of a dual-natured Zoroastrian deity of the wind (Vāyu) and of the atmosphere (Vāta).[3] The names are also used independently of one another, with 'Vāyu' occurring more frequently than 'Vāta', but even when used independently still representing the other aspect.[4]
| Vāyu-Vāta Avestan: 𐬬𐬀𐬌𐬌𐬎-𐬬𐬁𐬙𐬀 | |
|---|---|
The god of wind (Vāyu-Vāta) on a Kushan coin | |
| Other names | Vay, Vaybe, Vaybod, Andarva, Vayu, Wind |
| Affiliation | The Thirty-Three Deities, Guardians of the Days of the Month, Four Elements |
| Symbol | Lightning, Tornado, Emptiness |
| Sacred flower | Melissa |
| Attributes | Seeker, Righteous, Overcoming, Receding, Advancing, Everlasting, Strongest, Mightiest, Defeater, Wave-Caster, Flame-Spread[1] |
| Day | 22nd of each month in the Iranian calendar |
| Gender | Male |
| Festivals | Wind Day[2] |
| Associated deities | Indra, Rama |
| Equivalents | |
| Greek | Boreas |
| Sumerian | Adad |
| Indian | Vāyu |
The entity is simultaneously angelic and demonic, that is, depending on the circumstances, either yazata - "worthy of worship" - or daeva, which in Zoroastrian tradition is a demon. Scripture frequently applies the epithet "good" when speaking of one or the other in a positive context.[4]
In Zurvanism (Zurvanite Zoroastrianism, a now-extinct form of Zoroastrianism), Vāta-Vāyu represented two facets of the quaternary Zurvan. In this arrangement, Vāta-Vāyu represented "space" while the other two facets represent "time."
Vāyu-Vāta has Indo-Iranian roots and has the same name in historical Vedic religion.[5]
In Sanskrit and Hinduism
Both the words Vāta and Vāyu have almost identical meanings in Sanskrit or Vedic traditions. Although there is no god representing Vāta, there is the god Vāyu representing air.[6] The word Vāta is still used today in many Indian languages to denote atmosphere. Atmosphere in many Indian languages (such as Bengali, Hindi, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Sanskrit, etc.) is called Vātāvaraṇa (Sanskrit: वातावरण, lit. 'atmosphere, environment'); which is made of two words, Vāta (वात, lit. 'air') and Āvaraṇa (आवरण, lit. 'layer').[5]
