In the Upanishads there are numerous statements and illustrations of the greatness of Vayu. The Brhadaranyaka states that the gods who control bodily functions once engaged in a contest to determine who among them is the greatest. When a deity such as that of vision would leave a man's body, that man would continue to live, albeit as a blind man, and would regain the lost faculty once the errant deity returned to his post. One by one, the deities all took their turns leaving the body, but the man continued to live on, though successively impaired in various ways. Finally, when Mukhya Prana started to leave the body, all the other deities started to be inexorably pulled off their posts by force, "just as a powerful horse yanks off pegs in the ground to which he is bound." This caused the other deities to realize that they can function only when empowered by Vayu, and can be overpowered by him easily. In another episode, Vayu is said to be the only deity not afflicted by demons of sin who were on the attack. The Chandogya states that one cannot know Brahman except by knowing Vayu as the udgItha.
Followers of Dvaita philosophy hold that Mukhya-Vayu incarnated as Madhva to teach worthy souls to worship the supreme God as Vishnu and to correct the errors of Advaita philosophy. Madhva himself makes this claim, citing the Rg Veda as his evidence.
| Hinduism | Hindu mythology | Itihasa | [image] |
|---|---|
| Male Deities: Brahma | Vishnu | Shiva | Rama | Krishna | Ganesha | Indra | Lakshman | Hanuman | |
| Female Deities: Gayatri | Lakshmi | Sarasvati | Durga | Devi | Sita | Radha | Kali | Parvati | Shakti | |
| Texts: Vedas | Puranas | Ramayana | Mahabharata |