| Mitra | |
|---|---|
God of friendship, oaths and the morning sun | |
| Member of Adityas | |
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Mithra_et_accessoires_du_culte.jpg) A possible wooden depiction of Mitra from Tajikistan | |
| Devanagari | मित्र |
| Sanskrit transliteration | mitrá |
| Affiliation | Varuna, Deva, Adityas |
| Abode | Devaloka |
| Mantra | Om Mitraya Namah |
| Weapon | Sword |
| Mount | Horse |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | |
| Consort | Revati |
| Children |
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| Hinduism |
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Mitra (Sanskrit: मित्र IAST: Mitrá) is a Hindu god and generally one of the Adityas (the sons of the goddess Aditi), though his role has changed over time. In the Mitanni inscription, Mitra is invoked as one of the protectors of treaties. In the Rigveda, Mitra appears primarily in the dvandva compound Mitra-Varuna, which has essentially the same attributes as the god Varuna alone,[1] e.g. as the principal guardian of ṛtá "Truth, Order". In the late Vedic texts and the Brahmanas, Mitra is increasingly associated with the light of dawn and the morning sun (while Varuna becomes associated with the evening, and ultimately the night). In the post-Vedic texts – in which Mitra practically disappears[2] – Mitra evolved into the patron divinity of friendship, and because he is "friend", abhors all violence, even when sacred.[3]
- ^ MacDonell, Arthur Anthony (1917). A Vedic Reader. Oxford University Press. pp. 78–83, 118–119, 134.
- ^ Visuvalingam, Elizabeth-Chalier (1989). "Bhairava's royal Brahmanicide". Criminal Gods and Demon Devotees: Essays on the guardians of popular Hinduism. New York, NY: State University Press. p. 200.
- ^ Dumézil, Georges (1990). Mitra-Varuna: An essay on two Indo-European representations of sovereignty. Cambridge: Zone Books. ISBN 0-942299-13-2.