Vayu

Vāyu
God of Air, Wind, and Breath
Member of the Pancha Bhuta and Dikpala
Vayu on his Vahana.
Other namesAnila (अनिल)
Pávana (पवन)
Vyāna (व्यान)
Vāta (वात)
Tanūna (तनून)
Mukhyaprāṇa (मुख्यप्राण)
Bhīma (भीम)
Maruta (मारुत)
Devanagariवायु
Sanskrit transliterationVāyu
AffiliationDeva
AbodeVayu Loka, Satya Loka
MantraOm Vayave Namaha
Weapon
MountChariot drawn by Horses, Gazelle
Genealogy
Parents
Consort
ChildrenMudā Apsaras (daughters)
Hanuman (son)
Bhima (son)
Equivalents
Indo-EuropeanH₂weh₁yú

Vayu (Sanskrit: वायु, romanized: Vāyu, lit. 'Wind/Air'; Sanskrit pronunciation: [ʋaːju]), also known as Vata (Sanskrit: वात, romanized: Vāta, lit. 'Wind/Air') and Pavana (Sanskrit: पवन, romanized: Pávana, lit. 'Purifier'), is the Hindu god of the winds as well as the divine messenger of the gods. In the Vedic scriptures, Vayu is an important deity and is closely associated with Indra, the king of gods. He is mentioned to be born from the breath of Supreme Being Vishvapurusha and also the first one to drink Soma. The Upanishads praise him as Prana or 'life breath of the world'. In the later Hindu scriptures, he is described as a dikpala (one of the guardians of the direction), who looks over the north-west direction. The Hindu epics describe him as the father of the god Hanuman and Bhima.

The followers of the 13th-century saint Madhva believe their guru as an incarnation of Vāyu. They worship the wind deity as Mukhyaprana (Sanskrit: मुख्यप्राण, romanized: Mukhyaprāṇa, lit. 'Chief Prana') and consider him as the son of the god Vishnu.

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