Anila Vasu · Suvarnaveda

Wind-associated Vasu

Anila is the wind-associated member of the eight Vasus, a divine company described in the Mahabharata and Vishnu Purana. The epic also calls him Shvasana and names Shvasa as his mother. His wife is Shiva, a female figure in this genealogy, and their sons are Manojava and Avijnatagati.

Original artistic interpretation · Anila Vasu

THE LIVING ARCHIVE

About Anila Vasu

The similar names Anila and Anala identify different Vasus: Anila is connected with wind, while Anala is connected with fire. The name Shiva in Anila’s family belongs to his wife; the passage is not describing a marriage to the male god Shiva. These distinctions matter because the genealogy places several closely named divine figures side by side.

AT A GLANCE

Identity & Context

Identity: Deity
Form: Vasu
Tradition: Vedic · Puranic
Also Known As: Anila (Vasu)
World & Associations: Celestial sphere

Family Context

The available reference record does not establish a complete family genealogy. No parents, consorts, or descendants are inferred from the name alone.

IN THE TRADITION

Recorded Context

Wind Described Through a Family

The Vishnu Purana explains Manojava through the idea of speed like thought, and Avijnatagati through movement whose course cannot be traced. The sons’ names extend the imagery of wind: something felt through its rapid movement even when its path is difficult to follow. They give concrete meaning to the family associated with Anila.

Around this family, the Purana describes other Vasus through fire, daybreak and light. In the epic, these gods belong to a larger genealogy of the thirty-three deities. Anila’s place is therefore both individual and shared: a named husband and father within the Vasu group, with the wind association stated explicitly by the Puranic account.

Story Connections

Vasu lists

ROLE & ESSENCE

Attributes & Significance

Role

Wind-associated Vasu; overlap with wind divinity is source-dependent.

Attributes & Abilities

Wind symbolism

TRADITION & MEANING

Traditions & Interpretations

From the Sacred Texts

Explore the sacred texts behind these stories in the Suvarnaveda library.

Mahabharata Vishnu Purana

Artwork & Archive Notes

Objects & Emblems

No named weapon or artifact is specified in this profile’s reference record. This does not establish that the figure never used one.

Visual Identity

Where artwork is shown, it is a contemporary illustrative interpretation. This reference record does not establish a fixed portrait, colour scheme, or complete set of iconographic attributes for this figure.