Pushanपूषा
Pushan is the radiant Vedic god of nourishment, the guardian of roads, travellers, herds and flocks who ensures safe passage and finds what is lost. An Aditya and a solar deity, he is the kindly herdsman of the heavens and the guide of souls upon their journey. As presiding deity of Revati, the final nakshatra, he governs nourishment, safe travel and the fulfilment that comes at journey's end.
- Governs Nakshatra
- Revati
- Meaning
- The Nourisher - guardian of roads, herds and safe passage
- Represents
- Nourishment, safe journeys, protection of herds, guidance and completion
- Primary Qualities
- Nurturing care, generosity, protectiveness, guidance and gentle abundance
- Associated Planet
- Mercury
- Key Symbols
- The goad, the golden path, cattle and flocks, roads and the awl
- Favourable Activities
- Beginning journeys, tending animals, farming, teaching, guiding others and completing what has been begun
- Spiritual Lesson
- To nourish and guide others safely on their way is among the highest and most sacred of services.
Mythological background
Pushan is a Vedic solar deity and one of the Adityas, the shining sons of the goddess Aditi. His name derives from a root meaning 'to nourish' or 'to make flourish', and he is above all the nourisher - the god who causes cattle to thrive, crops to prosper and travellers to reach their destinations in safety. Many hymns of the Rigveda are addressed to him, praising his kindly, protective and abundant nature.
As a solar god Pushan is the keeper of the paths, both the daily course of the sun across the sky and the roads and tracks upon the earth. He is the guardian of travellers, herdsmen and their animals, watching over journeys, guiding the lost back to the way and recovering things and beasts that have strayed. In this role he is invoked as the great finder, the god who knows every path and lets nothing go truly astray.
Pushan is also a guide of souls, leading the departed along the ancient paths to the realm of the ancestors. A gentle, benevolent figure, he is sometimes described as toothless, said to subsist on a kind of gruel or mush - an image tied to a myth in which he lost his teeth, and one that underlines his mild and nurturing character rather than a fierce one.
Symbolism
Pushan symbolises sustenance, safe passage and guidance. As the herdsman of the heavens he embodies the nurturing care that helps all living things grow and flourish, and as the lord of roads he stands for protection on every journey, whether across the land or through the passages of life and death. His goad and awl are the tools of the herdsman and pathfinder, gently directing beings toward their proper way.
Because he presides over Revati, the last of the nakshatras, Pushan also carries the sense of completion and safe arrival - the nourishment and protection that see a long journey through to its end, and the kindly light that guides one home.
Influence on Revati Nakshatra
Revati is the twenty-seventh and final nakshatra, and Pushan's nourishing, protective and guiding nature is deeply stamped upon it. Those born under Revati tend to be kind, caring and generous, natural nurturers and protectors who look after others and animals with warmth. Like Pushan the pathfinder they often make wise guides and are drawn to helping others complete their journeys, carrying a gentle, giving spirit and a sense of bringing things to a safe and fulfilling close.
Spiritual significance
Spiritually Pushan teaches that nourishing and guiding others is sacred service. As the god who lets nothing be lost and who leads souls safely to their destination, he represents the compassionate care that sustains beings through every stage of the journey. His presidency over the final nakshatra makes him the deity of completion and safe arrival, reminding the seeker that the end of one journey, faithfully travelled and lovingly guided, opens the way to the next.
Iconography
Pushan is depicted as a radiant, benevolent solar figure, often golden in appearance, riding a chariot drawn by goats rather than horses - the goat being especially sacred to him. He carries a golden goad or awl for guiding cattle and finding the way, and is portrayed as gentle and kindly, sometimes shown as toothless in keeping with the tradition that he eats soft food, an image that underscores his mild, nurturing character.
Traditional worship
Devotees invoke Pushan for safe travel, for the wellbeing and increase of cattle and flocks, for prosperity in farming and herding, and for the recovery of lost people, animals or possessions. In the Vedic tradition he is petitioned at the start of journeys and offered prayers for protection along the road, and as a guide of souls he is remembered in rites concerning the passage of the departed, honoured wherever nourishment, safe passage and gentle guidance are sought.
Om Pushne Namah
Salutations to Pushan, the nourisher and protector.
Associated professions
Herdsmen, shepherds and cattle-keepers · Guides, escorts and travel professionals · Farmers and those who tend animals · Teachers, mentors and counsellors · Search, rescue and recovery workers
Pushan is an Aditya, one of the solar sons of the goddess Aditi, and a nourishing form of the sun.
His name means 'the nourisher', from a root meaning to cause to thrive or flourish.
He is the guardian of roads and travellers and is invoked as the finder of lost animals and things.
Tradition describes him as toothless, eating a soft gruel, following a myth in which he lost his teeth.
His chariot is drawn by goats, and he presides over Revati, the last of the twenty-seven nakshatras.
Related nakshatra
Questions people ask
Who is Pushan?
Pushan is the radiant Vedic god of nourishment, the guardian of roads, travellers, herds and flocks who ensures safe passage and finds what is lost. An Aditya and a solar deity, he is the kindly herdsman of the heavens and the guide of souls upon their journey. As presiding deity of Revati, the final nakshatra, he governs nourishment, safe travel and the fulfilment that comes at journey's end.
Which nakshatra does Pushan preside over?
Pushan presides over Revati nakshatra.
What does Pushan represent?
Pushan represents nourishment, safe journeys, protection of herds, guidance and completion.
What is the spiritual lesson of Pushan?
To nourish and guide others safely on their way is among the highest and most sacred of services.
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Last updated 2 August 2026 · attributes follow standard Vedic sources; panchang times computed by KaalPanchang from modern astronomy.