Danu (Asura)

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]

Danu
In-universe information
FamilyDaksha — father
Panchajani — mother
SpouseKashyapa
ChildrenViprachitti, 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.

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
  1. 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.
  2. The European discovery of India; key indological sources of romanticism. Ganesha Publishing. "Danu, d. of Daksha, w. of Kasyapa.”
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