| Danu | |
|---|---|
| In-universe information | |
| Family | Daksha — father Panchajani — mother |
| Spouse | Kashyapa |
| Children | Viprachitti, Hayagriva, Samvara, Namuchi, Poloman, Kapata, Kupata, Asiloman, Kesi, Durjaya, Ayassiras, Aswasiras, Aswasanku, Gaganamrdhan, Vegavat, Ketumat, Swarbhanu, Aswa, Aswapati, Vrishaparvan, Ajaka, Aswagriva, Sukshama, Tuhunda, Ekapada, Ekachakra, Virupaksha, Mahodara, Nichandra, Nikumbha, Sarabha, Sulabha, Surya, Chandramas (not the celestial sun and moon) and six others. |
Danu, a Hindu primordial goddess, is mentioned in the Rigveda, mother of the Danavas. The word Danu described the primeval waters which this deity perhaps embodied. In the Rigveda (I.32.9), she is identified as the mother of Vritra, the demonic serpent slain by Indra.[1] In later Hinduism, she becomes the daughter of the god Daksha and his spouse Panchajani, and the consort of the sage Kashyapa.[2]
Name
As a word for "rain" or "liquid", dānu is compared to Avestan dānu, "river", and further to river names like Don, Danube, Dneiper, Dniestr, etc. There is also a Danu river in Nepal. The "liquid" word is mostly neutral, but appears as feminine in RV 1.54.
See also
References
- ^ Kinsley, David (1987, reprint 2005). Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 81-208-0394-9. p. 16.
- ^ The European discovery of India; key indological sources of romanticism. Ganesha Publishing. "Danu, d. of Daksha, w. of Kasyapa.”