In the Mahabharata, the Vasus are a group of celestial beings or deities. There is a story associated with them which goes like this:
The Vasus were originally eight in number, but due to a curse, they were born on Earth. The curse was incurred when one of them, Prabhasa, stole Vasishtha's cow, Nandini. Vasishtha cursed them to be born on Earth as mortals. However, he softened the curse by allowing them to return to the celestial realm after a brief sojourn on Earth.
The Vasus then requested Vasishtha to modify the curse so that they could be freed from their mortal forms quickly. Vasishtha modified his curse, granting them the boon that they would be free from their human lives as soon as they were born.
As a result, seven of the Vasus were quickly liberated after being born, but the eighth Vasu, Prabhasa, had to live for a short period due to the theft. However, due to his noble nature, he asked Ganga to drown him in the river as soon as he was born, thus freeing him from his human life.
The names of the eight Vasus are:
1. Dyaus (or Dyaus Pita) - the sky god
2. Prithvi - the earth goddess
3. Surya - the sun god
4. Chandrama (Soma) - the moon god
5. Agni - the fire god
6. Vayu - the wind god
7. Varuna - the water god
8. Prabhasa (also known as Prabhas) - the Vasu associated with light or brightness.
Bhishma Pitama was the Prabhas Vasu .
These Vasus are sometimes also considered as the elemental deities representing different aspects of nature.
Who were 8 vasu in Mahabharat?