Pushan

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Pushan appears in ten hymns of the Rigveda, two of which pair him with Soma and Indra respectively. He rides a goat-drawn chariot and is occasionally described as guiding the Sun across the sky, likely representing the solar aspect that watches over livestock. Known as Kavi, a title later used for other gods and kings, Pushan has braided hair and a beard, and carries a golden axe, an awl, and a goad. His diet consists of gruel, and the Shatapatha Brahmana notes he has no teeth.

He is wed to Sūryā, the Sun’s daughter, given to him by the gods. As a pathfinder and road guardian, Pushan shields travelers from wolves and ambushers, knows the route between earth and heaven, and guides souls to the afterlife. He is called upon to protect cattle, horses, and sheep, and to recover lost animals. A story in the Taittiriya Samhita tells how Rudra, excluded from Daksha’s sacrifice, shot an arrow into the ritual and broke Pushan’s teeth while he tried to eat the offering.

Later accounts in the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Puranas shift the blame: Rudra, or Shiva, was angered when his father-in-law Daksha failed to invite him, so he kicked Pushan and knocked out his teeth as Pushan ate. In the Puranic versions, Shiva’s creation Virabhadra, born from a lock of his matted hair, performs the same deed. The Mahabharata and Puranas list Pushan among the twelve Adityas, the sons of Aditi. His eleven brothers are Surya, Aryaman, Tvashta, Savitr, Bhaga, Dhata, Mitra, Varuna, Amsha, Indra, and Vishnu in the form of Vamanadeva.

Did You Know?

• The name Pushan is traditionally derived from the Sanskrit verb pūṣyati, meaning 'to cause to thrive'.
• Many modern scholars consider Pushan to be derived from the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European god Péh₂usōn, making him a cognate of the Greek god Pan.
• The connection between Pan and Pushan was first proposed by the German scholar Hermann Collitz in 1924.