Today, Pavan is a fairly common Hindu name. Pavana played an important role in Anjana's begetting Hanuman as her child so Hanuman is also called Pavanaputra 'son of Pavana' and Vāyuputra. Moreover, since the Lord himself does not appear on earth until the end of kali age, the incarnate Vayu/ Madhva serves during this period as the sole 'means' to bring souls to salvation". Hanuman the friend and helper of Rama in the Treta Yuga, the strongman Bhima in Mahabharata, set at the end of Dvapara Yuga and Madhva in the Kali Yuga. Vayu sculpture, Gokarneshwor Mahadev Temple, Gokarna, KathmanduĪmerican Indologist Philip Lutgendorf says, "According to Madhva whenever Lord Vishnu incarnates on earth, Mukhya Prana/Vayu accompanies him and aids his work of preserving dharma. The Chandogya Upanishad says that one cannot know Brahman except by knowing Vayu as the udgitha (the mantric syllable om). In another episode, Vayu is said to be the only deity not afflicted by demons of sin who were on the attack. This caused the other deities to realize that they can function only when empowered by Vayu, and can be overpowered by him easily. Finally, when Mukhya Prāna started to leave the body, all the other deities started to be inexorably pulled off their posts by force, 'just as a powerful horse yanks off pegs in the ground to which he is bound'.
One by one the deities all took their turns leaving the body, but the man continued to live on, though successively impaired in various ways. When a deity such as that of vision would leave a man's body, that man would continue to live, albeit as a blind man and having regained the lost faculty once the errant deity returned to his post. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says that the gods who control bodily functions once engaged in a contest to determine who among them is the greatest. In the Upanishads, there are numerous statements and illustrations of the greatness of Vayu. Like the other atmospheric deities, he is a 'fighter and destroyer', 'powerful and heroic'. In the hymns, Vayu is 'described as having "exceptional beauty" and moving noisily in his shining coach, driven by two or forty-nine or one-thousand white and purple horses. Vayu is also the first god to receive soma in the ritual, and then he and Indra share their first drink. In the Rigveda, Vayu is associated with the winds, with the Maruts being described as being born from Vayu's belly. Kushan ruler Kanishka I with deity Oado (Vayu-Vata) on the reverse. Sholapurkar says, "It is said that the philosophy propounded by Madhvacharya was originally handed over by Vayu to his son Hanuman, who gave it to Bheema and in the end was received by Anand Teertha or Madhvacharya. As Hanuman he helped Rama, as Bhima, he assisted Krishna, and as Madhvacharya (1238 - 1317) he founded the Vaishnava sect called Sadh Vaishnavism and the philosophy called Tattvavada". Indian author Vanamali says, " Vaishnavites or followers of Vishnu, believe that the wind god Vayu underwent three incarnations to help Lord Vishnu. He is also known as Anila ('air, wind'), Vyāna ('air'), Vāta ('airy element'), Tanuna ('the wind'), Pavana ('the purifier'), and Prāṇa ('the life force'). Vayu ( Sanskrit pronunciation:, Sanskrit: वायु, IAST: Vāyu) is a primary Hindu deity, the lord of the winds as well as deity of breath and the spiritual father of Hanuman and Bhima. Anil, Pavan, Vyān, Vāta, Tanun, Mukhyaprana, Bheema