Mitra
In Hinduism, Mitra is a solar deity and god of honesty, friendship and contracts. He is one of the Adityas; he can be identified with the Mithra of Persian Zoroastrianism, who in turn apparently lent his name to the Hellenistic and Roman life-death-rebirth deity Mithras. In the Indian Vedic mythology, however, it is Indra, not Mitra, who slays the chthonic bull.The first occurrence of the name Mitra is in a treaty inscription, ca 1400 BC, established between the Hittites and the Hurrian kingdom of the Mitanni in the area southeast of Lake Van. The treaty is guaranteed by five Vedic gods: Indra, Mitra, Varuna and the twin horsemen, the Ashvins or Nasatya. The Hurrians, it appears, were being led by an aristocratic warrior caste worshipping these gods.
The worship of Mitra/Mithra spread across the Iranian plateau and to the Indus Valley civilization.
In the Vedic hymns, Mitra is always invoked together with Varuna, so that the two are combined as 'Mitravaruna': Varuna is lord of the cosmic rhythm of the celestial spheres, while Mitra brings forth the light at dawn, which was covered by Varuna. In the later Vedic ritual, a white victim is prescribed for Mitra, a dark one for Varuna. In the Shatapatha Brahmana, the paired One is analyzed as 'the Counsel and the Power,' Mitra the priesthood, Varuna the royal power. As Joseph Campbell remarked, "Both are said to have a thousand eyes. Both are active foreground aspects of the light or solar force at play in time. Both renew the world by their deed.'
The Hellenistic and Roman god Mithras "the Bull-Slayer", worshipped by initiated male Mithraists from the 1st century BC to the 5th century AD, is believed to be a combination of Persian Mithra with other Persian and perhaps Anatolian deities.
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