Some, like the ancient commentator Shākapūņi, believe that Vishvedevaĥ constitute a special class of Deities. In the opinion of Yāska, the term Vishva is in the sense of all; hence it refers to the collectivity of all the Gods including the Gods with specific names like Agni etc. and those not specifically mentioned. This view seems to be better since all the hymns addressed to them carry the implied sense of the assembly of all the Gods. These hymns especially stress the qualities common to all the Gods. Vishvedevāĥ occurs in the Rigveda for the first time in Hymn 3, mantrās (3.7) to (3.9).
