a/Ngiras ¦ m. N. of a Ṛṣi, author of the hymns of RV. ix, of a code of laws, and of a treatise on astronomy (he is said by some to have been born from Brahmā’s mouth, and to have been the husband of Smṛti, of Śraddhā, of two daughters of Maitreya, of several daughters of Dakṣa, &c.;he is considered as one of the seven Ṛṣis of the first Manvantara, as a Prajāpati, as a teacher of the Brahmavidyā, which he had learnt from Satyavāha, a descendant of Bharadvāja, &c. Among his sons, the chief is Agni, others are Saṃvarta, Utathya, and Bṛhaspati;among his daughters are mentioned Sinīvālī, Kuhū, Rākā, Anumati, and Akūpārā;but the Ṛcas or Vedic hymns, the manes of Haviṣmat, and mankind itself are styled his offspring. In astronomy he is the planet Jupiter, and a star in Ursa Major)
Sanskrit Dictionary