Does Savitar exist in Hindu Mythology?

        Flash, the DC series talks about a Hindu God. Is he for real or just a made up name? Sridhar tries to unravel the mystery.

Flash Season 3 Episode 6 ‘Shade’ revealed who the flash of light was – an evil giant speedster going by the name ‘Savitar’ and calling himself the God of Speed. Episode 7 ‘Killer Frost’ delved more into this DC Comic villain. HR (current Harrison Wells) calls him the Hindu God of motion.

Who is Savitar? Comic book fans would know him as a Cold War pilot appearing in Flash Volume 2 as someone who tests a supersonic fighter jet. As he reached top speed, his plane was struck by what appeared to be lightning, and he discovered, he could defeat the enemy by moving at super-speed. He became obsessed with speed, naming himself after Savitr, the Hindu “god of motion”, and dedicating his life to unlocking its secrets.

I decided to venture further into this claim. Is there a Hindu God by this name? Surprisingly, there is.

There are many hymns in the Rig Veda (the first Veda and grammatically older than the other Vedas) dedicated to deities that are not part of the popular religion today. They are just a name in the 33 crore deities, now. One of them is Savitr.

Savitr is one of the solar deities or ‘Adityas’, as some call it. Mostly associated with – and at other times distinguished from – Surya, “the Sun”. (Surya is also called Aditya). The Sun before sunrise is called Savitr, and after sunrise until sunset it is called Surya. Can this mean he was referred to as the dark

What is interesting here is that Savitr is said to be the Lord of that which moves and is stationary. Important to note; movement, not speed. Some will argue, that which is moving or stationary has speed. Which is partly true. If something is still, it does have a speed of 0.

So, while we enjoy the fantasy world of Barry Allen, Caitlin Snow (who finally becomes the sweet Snow we know…), Cisco Ramon, Wally West (Kid Flash, yeaaaah) and others, a trip down India’s mythology helps realize that we have some fantastic characters already. All it requires is some good brains to invest their time and some worthy production house to invest their resources!