BRIHASPATI or BRAHMANASPATI ("Lord of prayer"), a deity in the Vedic Hindu mythology, an ally of Indra in his conquest of the cloud demon. In the Rig Veda he is identi fied with Agni (q.v.). Offspring of Heaven and Earth, he inspires prayer and protects the pious. Depicted as having seven mouths, 100 wings and sharp horns, he is armed with bow and axe, and his chariot is drawn by red horses. In the epics he is merely a priest or sage.
See A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology (Strasbourg, 5897) ; E. W. Hopkins, Epic Mythology (Strasbourg,