*Dyḗus (lit. 'daylight'), also *Dyḗus ph₂tḗr (lit. 'father daylight'),[1][2] is the reconstructed name of the daylight-sky god in Proto-Indo-European mythology. *Dyēus was conceived as a divine personification of the bright sky of the day and the seat of the gods, the *deywṓs. Associated with the vast diurnal sky and with the fertile rains, *Dyēus was often paired with *Dʰéǵʰōm, the Earth Mother, in a relationship of union and contrast.
The earliest written evidence of belief in Dyauṣ Pitṛ (literally "Sky Father" or "shining father") appears in the Rigveda, the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism. Compiled in northwestern India, its core hymns date to the late Bronze Age, roughly 1500–1200 BCE.
In the Rigveda, Dyauṣ Pitṛ is venerated as the cosmic father and, alongside the earth goddess Prithvi, forms the primordial parental pair (Dyavaprithvi) that engendered the gods.
Specific written evidence includes:
Rigveda (Hymn 1.89.4): The most direct invocation, which translates to: "May Earth our Mother, and our Father Heaven give it to us..."
Rigveda (Hymn 1.164.33): References the sky father's generative power, with the hymn stating "Heaven is my father, my source..."
He is fundamentally the linguistic and mythological predecessor to cognate Indo-European sky gods, notably the Greek Zeus Pater and Roman Jupiter