ORIGIN: Hindu (Vedic)
TYPE: Creator God
KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP: Circa 1500 BCE or earlier until present
SYNONYMS: theSanskrit dyaus is derived from the Indo-European root which also gives Deus(Roman); Zeus (Greek); Tyr (German), etc.
LITERARY SOURCES: Rg Veda and other Vedic texts.
AFFILIATION: Deva, Pancha Bhoota
ABODE: Dyuloka, Sky
CONSORT: Prithvi
OFFSPRING: Surya, Ushas and the other gods.
EQUIVALENTS: Zeus (Greek); Jupiter/Dis Pater (Roman)
INFORMATION: Dyaus Pitar is a creator god associated with the goddess Prithvi; the primordial couple are normally addressed as Dyavaprthivi. Between them they created the rest of the Vedic pantheon, placed heaven and earth in conjunction with one another and generally preserved the cosmic order. Dyaus is overshadowed and superseded by the rain god Indra in later Hindu tradition, possibly because he was brought into India by the Aryan settlers from the north who had been used to a cold, bleak climate and who needed a supreme deity more relevant to a hot, dry environment.