Editing Prajapati (section)

==Etymology==
Prajapati ([[Sanskrit]]: {{lang|sa|प्रजापति}}) is a compound of "praja" (creation, procreative powers) and "pati" (lord, master).<ref>[[Jan Gonda]] (1982), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1062566 The Popular Prajāpati] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215195110/https://www.jstor.org/stable/1062566 |date=15 February 2020 }}, History of Religions, Vol. 22, No. 2 (Nov., 1982), University of Chicago Press, pp. 137-141</ref> The term means "lord of creatures",<ref name="Dalal2010p311"/><ref name="Williams2008p234"/> or "lord of all born beings".<ref name="JonesRyan2006p332"/> In the later Vedic texts, Prajapati is a distinct Vedic deity, but whose significance diminishes.<ref name="Williams2008p234"/> Later, the term is synonymous with other gods, particularly Brahma.<ref name="Dalal2010p311"/><ref name="Lochtefeld2002p518"/> Still later, the term evolves to mean any divine, semi-divine or human sages who create something new.<ref name="Dalal2010p311"/><ref name="Williams2008p234"/><ref>{{cite book|author=James G. Lochtefeld|title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: N-Z|url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch |url-access=registration|year=2002|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-8239-3180-4|pages=169, 518–519}}</ref>