Māna-Yood-Sushāī (The Gods of Pegana)

## Māna-Yood-Sushāī

illustration by Sidney H. Sime from Lord Dunsany's work "Gods, Men and Ghosts", first published in 1972.

### Occupation

Creator of the gods, slumbers at the center of the universe until waking to destroy all creation and begin anew

## Appearances

### Appears in

The Gods of Pegāna (1905 short story collection by Lord Dunsany)

> Before there stood gods upon Olympus, or ever Allah was Allah, had wrought and rested MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI. There are in Pegana Mung and Sish and Kib, and the maker of all small gods, who is MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI. Moreover, we have a faith in Roon and Slid. And it has been said of old that all things that have been were wrought by the small gods, excepting only MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI, who made the gods and hath thereafter rested. And none may pray to MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI but only the gods whom he hath made. But at the Last will MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI forget to rest, and will make again new gods and other worlds, and will destroy the gods whom he hath made. And the gods and the worlds shall depart, and there shall be only MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI.
>
>  The Gods of Pegāna

**Māna-Yood-Sushāī** is described as the chief of the gods of Pegāna. He is said to have created the other gods in Pegāna. After creating them, he fell asleep. When he awakens, he "will make again new gods and other worlds, and will destroy the gods whom he hath made."Men may pray to "all the gods but one"; only the gods themselves may pray to Māna-Yood-Sushāī. He is the one god that none but the other gods may pray to.Skarl the Drummer's task is to eternally beat a drum, in order to keep Māna-Yood-Sushāī asleep. If Skarl were to stop drumming, Māna-Yood-Sushāī would awake and destroy all the worlds and gods he created.

## background

In the beginning, only Fate and Chance existed. They drew lots and the winner went to Māna-Yood-Sushāī and told him to create lesser gods to play the "game" of the universe.Māna-Yood-Sushāī created the other gods, including notable gods like Kib, Sish, Mung, and Skarl the Drummer.Skarl began beating his endless drumbeat, which lulled Māna-Yood-Sushāī into a deep eternal sleep. As long as Skarl drums, Māna-Yood-Sushāī will sleep.The lesser gods then created the world and heavens to amuse themselves while their creator slept It is said if Skarl ever stopped drumming, even for an instant, Māna-Yood-Sushāī would awake. Upon awakening, he would be displeased that the gods acted without him and would destroy all of creation.Māna-Yood-Sushāī is called "The One God to Whom None May Pray" except for the gods themselves.

## Publication story

Dunsany's most notable early fantasy works were contained in short story collections published between 1905-1919, before fantasy was a recognized genre.His first book was 1905's The Gods of Pegana, which depicted his own fictional pantheon of deities including Māna-Yood-Sushāī. This collection helped establish him as a leading early fantasy writer. The stories in The Gods of Pegana and his second book were set in the invented world of Pegana, with its own Gods, history and geography The Gods of Pegana in particular paid homage to ancient mythologies but depicted a fantasy realm of Dunsany's own imagination. It helped pioneer the modern fantasy genre through its creation of wholly original fictional pantheons.

## Powers

* **Absolute Transcendence**
* **Complete Omniscience**: As the chief god and creator in the pantheon of Pegāna, Māna-Yood-Sushāī possesses absolute and infinite knowledge."Even while he's asleep Māna-Yood-Sushāī (The Gods of Pegāna) , his mind retains full and infinite knowledge.
* **Totality Destruction:** It is said that when Skarl stops drumming, it will wake Māna-Yood-Sushāī, and he will laugh at the futility of gods and men as he destroys everything with a wave of his hand.
* **Absolute Invincibility**

## Trivia

* He is the chief god and creator of the other gods in the pantheon of Pegāna in Lord Dunsany's book The Gods of Pegāna.
* He created the gods and then fell asleep. When he wakes, he will destroy the current gods and worlds and create new ones.
* Only the gods can pray to him. Mortals can pray to all other gods except Māna-Yood-Sushāī.
* He is constantly lulled to sleep by the drumming of Skarl, his drummer. If Skarl stops drumming even for an instant, Māna-Yood-Sushāī will awake and destroy all of creation.
* Lord Dunsany's The Gods of Pegāna is considered an early example of an author creating their own fully fictional mythology . Māna-Yood-Sushāī exists solely within this created pantheon.

## behind mythos and Azathoth inspiration

* Māna-Yood-Sushāī is created by Lord Dunsany in his short story collection The Gods of Pegana. It is described as the creator deity who slumbers after creating the other gods.
* When Chaosium incorporated Māna-Yood-Sushāī into the Cthulhu Mythos, they established it as an avatar of the Outer God Azathoth.
* According to Mythos scholar Robert M. Price, Māna-Yood-Sushai from The Gods of Pegana was likely the inspiration for Azathoth, one of the most prominent Outer Gods in the Cthulhu Mythos created by H.P. Lovecraft.
* Lovecraft was heavily influenced by Dunsany's The Gods of Pegana, which helped inspire him to create his own elaborate mythos.