Bhaga
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(December 2020) |
| Bhaga | |
|---|---|
God of Wealth | |
| Affiliation | Adityas |
| Planet | Sun |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | |
| Spouse | Siddhi(according toBhagavata Purana)[1] |
| Children | Mahiman, Vibhu and Prabhu (sons) Āśis (daughter)[1] |
Bhagais theVedicgod of wealth,[3]as well as a term for "lord,patron"and" wealth, prosperity ". He is anĀditya,a group of societal deities who are the sons ofAditi.Bhaga's responsibility was to make sure that people received a share of the goods in life. He is associated with his brother,Aryaman,regarding the expectation of a successful marriage.[4]
Etymology[edit]
The cognate term inAvestanandOld Persianisbaga,of uncertain meaning but used in a sense in which "lord, patron, sharer/distributor of good fortune" might also apply. The cognate inSlavic languagesis the rootbogъ( "god" ). Thesemanticsis similar toEnglishlord(fromhlaford"bread-warden" ), the idea being that it is part of the function of a chieftain or leader to distribute riches or spoils among his followers. The name of the city ofBaghdadderives fromMiddle Persianbag-dād,"lord-given".
Role[edit]
In Sanskrit religious literature[edit]
In theRigveda Samhita,Bhaga is invoked and praised as the "sustainer of the world", "giver of wealth", "chief leader of rites", and "possessor of opulence". He is asked to bestow upon his adherents cattle and horses, male issue, felicity, and riches.[5]
In the SanskritRigveda,bhagais an epithet of both mortals and gods (e.g. ofSavitr,IndraandAgni) who bestow wealth and prosperity, as well as the personification of a particular god,theBhaga, who bestows the same. In the Rigveda, the personification is attested primarily inRV7.41, which is devoted to the praise of the Bhaga and of the deities closest to him, and in which the Bhaga is invoked about 60 times, together with Agni, Indra, thedualMitra-Varuna,the twoAshvins,Pusan,Brahmanaspati,SomaandRudra.Bhaga is also invoked elsewhere in the company of Indra,VarunaandMitra(e.g.RV10.35, 42.396). The personification is occasionally intentionally ambiguous, as inRV5.46 where men are portrayed as requesting the Bhaga to share inbhaga.In the Rigveda, the Bhaga is occasionally associated with the sun: inRV1.123, the Dawn (Ushas) is said to be the Bhaga's sister, and inRV1.136, the Bhaga's eye is adorned with rays.
The 5th/6th-century BCENirukta(Nir.12.13) describes Bhaga as the god of the morning. In the Rigveda, the Bhaga is named as one of theAdityas,the seven (or eight) celestial sons ofAditi,the Rigvedic mother of the gods. In the medievalBhagavata Purana,the Bhaga reappears with the Puranic Adityas, which are by then twelve solar gods.
Legacy[edit]
Elsewhere, the Bhaga continues as a god of wealth and marriage, in a role that is also attested for theSogdian (Buddhist)equivalent of the Bhaga.
The common nounbhagasurvives in the 2nd century CE inscription ofRudradaman I,where it is a fiscal term; inbhagavanfor "one who possesses (-van) the properties of abhaga-",hence itself" lord, god "; and inbhagya,and "that which derives frombhaga",hence"destiny"as an abstract noun, and alsoBhagyapersonified as the proper name of a son ofSurya.
Bhaga is also the presiding deity of thePurva PhalgunīNakshatra.
References[edit]
- ^abBhagavata Purana, Book 6 - Sixth Skandha, Chapter 18
- ^Gaṅgā Rām Garg (1992).Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World.Concept Publishing Company. pp. 170–.ISBN978-81-7022-374-0.
- ^Kulasrestha, Mahendra (2006).The Golden Book of Rigveda.Lotus Press.ISBN978-81-8382-010-3.
- ^Stephanie Jamison; Brereton, Joel (2015).The Rigveda –– Earliest Religious Poetry of India.Oxford University Press. p. 44.ISBN978-0190633394.
- ^Rig-Veda Sanhitá a Collection of Ancient Hindú Hymns, Constituting the Fifth Ashtaka, Or Book of the Reg-Veda... Translated from the Original Sanskrit by the Late H. H. Wilson.N. Trübner. 1866.
