Encyclopedia for Epics of Ancient India

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Prajapati

Read about Prajapati at Wikipedia

PRAJAPATI. [Source: Dowson's Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology] 'Lord of creatures,' a progenitor, creator.

In the Veda the term in applied to Indra, Savitri, Soma, Hiranyagarbha, and other deities.

In Manu the term is applied to Brahma as the active creator and supporter of the universe; so Brahma is the Prajapati.

It is also given to Manu Swayambhuva himself, as the son of Brahma and as the secondary creator of the ten Rishis, or "mind-born sons" of Brahma, from whom mankind has descended. It is to these ten sages, as fathers of the human race, that the name Prajapati most commonly is given. They are Marichi, Atri, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Vasishtha, Prachetas or Daksha, Bhrigu, and Narada.

According to some authorities the Prajapatis are only seven in number, being identical with the seven great Rishis. The number and names of the Prajapatis vary in different authorities: the Mahabharata makes twenty-one.


Modern Languages MLLL-4993. Indian Epics. Laura Gibbs, Ph.D. The textual material made available at this website is licensed under a Creative Commons License. You must give the original author credit. You may not use this work for commercial purposes. If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under a license identical to this one. No claims are made regarding the status of images used at this website; if you own the copyright privileges to any of these images and believe your copyright privileges have been violated, please contact the webmaster. Page last updated: October 16, 2007 12:22 PM