A for Ashta Vasus - Mahabharata Mashup

Namaste, 

And we start the challenge with the first alphabet. 

In Mahabharata, Ashta Vasus (eight Vasus) are the sons of Prajapati (in one version) and sons of Aditi and Kasyapa rishi (in another version). They are celestial deities associated with the elements. The Vasus belong to Indra’s Heaven and work for Maha Vishnu. They are among the thirty-three gods listed in Hinduism (contrary to the popular myth, we don’t have 33 crores of gods). 

A Vasu is someone who gives. As rulers of elements and natural forces, they nourish and punish. Different texts use different names for the Vasus, but their core elements remain the same. 

The Ashta Vasus are: 

1. Earth – Prithvi / Dhara 
2. Fire – Agni / Anala / Pavaka 
3. Wind/ Air – Vayu / Anila 
4. Water – Varuna / Aapa / Aha 
5. Sky/ Ether – Dyaus / Prabhasa
6. Sun – Aditya / Pratyusha 
7. Moon – Chandra / Soma 
8. Stars – Nakstrani / Dhruva 

One day, the Vasus and their wives visited Mount Meru. They saw the wish-fulfilling cow belonging to Maharshi Vasishta and stole her. But before they could leave, they got caught. The rishi cursed them to be born as humans for their crime. However, the Vasus pleaded mercy. He amended the curse for seven of them and said they could return to their original self after a year. However, the one who committed the crime, Dyaus, aka Prabhasa, would have to stay on the earth for a long time. 

The Vasuses requested River Goddess Ganga to give birth to them on the earth and wished to be born as the sons of King Pratipa’s son. That was how Shantanu (Pratipa’s son) saw and fell in love with Ganga and married her. As promised, she gave birth to the seven Vasus year after year and drowned them in the river soon afterward. The eighth son was Devvrata or Gangadatta. He grew up to become Bhishma, the key member of the Kuru dynasty. 

Note: This story is found in the Adi Parva of Mahabharata. 

On the tenth day of the Kurukshetra War, Bhishma fell to Arjuna’s arrows and lay on the bed of arrows on the battlefield. The Vasus visited him in celestial form to take him back home. Finally, almost two months later, when the Uttarayan begins, Bhishma left the mortal world to become a Vasu. 

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PS: If you are wondering, the 33 gods are -

12 Adityas 

11 Rudras 

8 Vasus 

2 Ashvins 

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I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. 

The AI images are made on Bing.