Forbidden or Forgotten Rigvedic Deities — By Conspiracy or By Chance?

Various unknown Saints (rishis) wrote Rigveda during 1500–1200 BCE (approx 3500 years ago), but some research indicates it is far older than this. It is the oldest and first known scripture available to the civilization that survived around the river Sindhu (Indus as per greeks).

I got the opportunity to read Rigveda to discover the past from a pure research perspective with an inclination to uncover hidden and forbidden heritage. Rigveda holds the treasure of information that can help us see evolution. Without searching the womb of History, we will never be able to reimagine the present and future.

Rigveda started with the prayer of Agni, but it has many deities whose number goes beyond a hundred. If we look at the Hymns, it is praising the relevant god with their attributes and reimagining its impact on us.

In this study, I have dwelled upon one aspect of the forbidden deities. I tried to concentrate on only a few forbidden ones. It will surprise many who are interested in understanding the religion as it remained hidden from their knowledge. These are just a small sample, as many as there are over a hundred of them in Rigved, and almost all of them look like alien deities baring few.

Indra — The name of Indra is not a surprise for many but what is surprising is that most modern Hindus do not worship Indra. Have you seen an independent Indra temple except in a few places, such as one village in Tamil Nadu (Pottu Samy in the Kongu Nadu region)? Indra was the most important god, with a maximum number of Hymns in Rigveda dedicated to Indra. Approximately five thousand times, Indra has been referred to in Rigveda. Indra was also a Daeva for Avestan (Zoroastrians), the Greek equivalent was Zeus, Sumerians (Mesopotamians) also worshiped Indra.

Soma — Soma was a ritual drink, and a deity in Rigveda referred to nearly two thousand times. Today researchers are still investigating what it was. Soma was called Haoma by Avestans (Zoroastrians). Zoroastrians (ancient Persians) used to pronounce "S" as "H."

Mitra — Mitra is another popular god among the greeks, Zoroastrians, and Rigvedic Aryans. Nearly four hundred times, Rigveda has referred to Mitra. Mitra was referred to by Mitanni (near Egypt, Syria, and Iraq), who invoked Rigvedic gods like Varuna, Indra, Nastya, etc. In the Turkish region, Mitra is still worshipped. Ancient Greeks and Romans worshipped Mithra, which is the same as Mitra. Mitra is invoked as one of the protectors of treaties and linked to the preserver of contracts, commitments, and promises.

Savitr- Savitr is a rigvedic god. Savitr disappeared as an independent deity from the Hindus after the Vedic period but is still worshiped in modern Hinduism and is referred to as Sāvitrī or sometimes as Sun, which is entirely incorrect. Rigveda has described the attributes of Savitr in detail with more than two hundred references and, in one place, calls it "God who looks on every creature." I am surprised by the amount of misunderstanding that still exists about Savitr. The Gayatri Mantra is a hymn that talks about Savitr, and still, many Hindus may say they don't' know Savitr. Gayatri which is the sacred hymn is the prayer for the Savitr god in Rigveda's' Mandala 03, Sukta 062, and Hymn no 10. Savitr has many attributes uncommon to all regular Rigvedic deities, indicating the difference.

ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः [तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ]॥

(We meditate on that desirable light of the divine Savitr, who influences our prayers)

Rbhus — In addition to the above deities, many other deities appeared comparatively less frequently. More than fifty of them I came across. Rbhus is one of them. Rbhus had engineered the chariot of Indra, created horses, and blessed us with cows and other things linked to prosperity. Rbhus is also referred to as shining brilliance of excellence. I am not sure what it is, though as every research pointed in a different direction, it seems it is the same as Greek Orpheus.

Why were the Rigvedic deities ignored, forgotten, or forbidden during post-Vedic practices? It seems the heritage and History are both altered by ignoring or failing it. I am not sure of the reason, but we can validate a few hypotheses.

They are:-

1. Rise of Trimurti — The rise of Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh led to the destruction of the remaining ones. All three are lesser-known Rigvedic deities, and in Rigveda, Indra was the king of deities. Brahma was less popular than Rbhus. Vishnu was referred to nearly a hundred times. Out of the three, Mahesh, who is referred to as Rudra in Rigveda, is referred to in almost one hundred fifty hymns compared to Indra's five thousand references. The rise of Trimurti from zero to hero indicates underlying structural changes. Was there a turning point in Hinduism?
2. Indra, the fearsome deity: More than five thousand hymns in Rigveda revolved around Indra which revolved around Indra. Indra is described as a conqueror and violent. Indra accepts the sacrificial heads of Bovine creatures as a gift. There are many references to battles and wars, and more than one thousand hymns refer to conflicts, and slaughtering (slaying) is referred to more than five hundred times. Maybe they dumped both Rigveda and Indra for that reason.
3. Disconnecting the legacy: This is strange but my weird observation. Maybe they wanted to eliminate the ones which were common across the cultures. For example, the popular ones may have come from the legacy of migrations which is still a mystery. They went through a cultural transformation to drop the legacy. Or maybe it was the way to create a different identity as they may have perceived a challenge with overlaps with Greeks, Avestan, Mitanis, and Romans? This is just food for thought.
4. Brahminical Politics: To me, this is a prime suspect. During the Vedic periods, the varna or caste was not there. There is only one Hymn, out of context in Rigveda, which identifies the four castes, and there is no reference after that. It does not discriminate against the caste, though. It has been established by many researchers, from Max Muller to others, that it was a later manipulation. Without dismantling or systematically ignoring Rigveda, it was impossible. So Brahmind possibly diluted Rigveda by introducing more scriptures and later parked into oblivion to be forgotten and ignored. This possibility will need more profound research to validate.

Whatever it was, the connection between civilizations is an interesting one. The overlap of deities hides a key to evolution. A wrong understanding of History can lead to an uncertain future. The womb of History needs to be protected and investigated because the end is an extrapolation of the past.