God and gender in Hinduism

In Hinduism, there are diverse approaches to conceptualizing God and gender. Many Hindus focus upon impersonal Absolute (Brahman) which is genderless. Other Hindu traditions conceive God as androgynous (both female and male), alternatively as either male or female, while cherishing gender henotheism, that is without denying the existence of other Gods in either gender.

The Shakti tradition conceives of God as a female. Other Bhakti traditions of Hinduism have both male and female gods. In ancient and medieval Indian mythology, each masculine deva of the Hindu pantheon is partnered with a feminine devi.

Male and female deities are extensively mentioned in the Vedas. The earliest mandalas ("Books"; the authorship of each mandala is traditionally ascribed to a particular rishi or that rishi's family) of the Rigveda, estimated to have been composed sometime in the 2nd millennium BCE, invoke and praise both gods and goddesses. Ushas ("Goddess of Dawns") is praised in twenty Hymns of Chapters VI.64, VI.65, VII.78 and X.172, with Hymn VI.64.5 declaring goddess Ushas as the one who must be worshipped first.

Hymn to Ushas (Abridged):
The shining tints of the Dawn have spread like the waves of the waters,
Beautifying the world, she renders all good roads easy to traverse,
She who is replete with delight, excellence and health,
Divine Ushas, though art seen auspicious, thou shinest afar,
thy bright rays spread over the sky, lovely and radiant with great splendour;
Do thou Ushas bring me opulence, daughter of heaven;
thou who art divine, who art lovely, who art to be worshipped at the first daily rite;
At thy dawning, divine Ushas, birds fly from their resting places, men arise to work;
Thou, divine Ushas, bring ample wealth to the mortal, the offerer of these prayers.

Goddesses, other than Ushas, mentioned in early Vedic literature include Prthivi (earth), Aditi (mother of gods, abundance), Sarasvati (river, nourishment), Vac (sound and speech), and Nirrti (death, destruction). Similarly male gods feature prominently in the Vedas, with Indra (rain, lightning), Agni (fire), Varuna (rta, law), Dyaus (sky, virility), Savitr (Surya, sun), and Soma (drink) some of the most mentioned. The two deities most mentioned in Rigveda are Indra and Agni, both male. Surya is the third most revered god, again a male. Each is mentioned, anywhere rain and fire is evoked. They are profusely praised, with ceremonies and prayers to all gods and goddesses symbolically organized around fire (Agni yajna). The hymns seek strengthening of fire, and it is god Indra who increases the energy of the fire, while god Surya increases his brightness. Max Muller states that, while there are difference in frequency of mentions, gods and goddesses in Rig veda are "neither superior nor inferior; almost every one is represented as supreme and absolute".

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