Ushas

Ushas ( Skt. उषस्; uṣas "dawn") is a deity in Vedic mythology , personified dawn.

Ushas is the most important and one of the highest deities of the Rig Veda . Sometimes used the plural - "dawns". She is portrayed as a beautiful young woman, awakening all living beings and driving away evil spirits, a beautiful young woman riding a golden chariot across the sky.

Ushas is dedicated to 20 hymns of the Rig Veda. The first mention in the Ushas Rigveda is Rigveda 1.30, where it is mentioned along with Indra and Ashwins (“Anthem to Indra, Ashwins and Ushas”).

In the Rig Veda 6.64.1-2, Ushas is described as follows:

Morning dawns have risen, shining for beauty, Glistening like waves of water. She makes all paths happy, easy to walk. A rich, generous Dakshina appeared. You (always) appear as a carrier of happiness. Far away you sparkle: Your flame (s) rays soared to the sky. Flaunting, you are exposing your breasts O Ushas divine, shining in (all) splendor. [one]

In his book The Secret of the Vedas, Aurobindo writes:

... Dawn is an inner insight that brings a person all the diverse completeness of his broadest being, strength, consciousness, joy; it shines with its radiance, all possible forces and energies come with it, it gives a person the fullness of life force so that he can enjoy the endless delight of a wider existence.

In the oldest parts of the Rigveda, Ushas is defined as the “divine daughter” - divó duhitâ - Dyaus- Pita, “Heaven-Father”. She is also considered the wife of Surya , the god of the sun, and the mother of the Ashvin , the divine twins, symbolizing the dawn and sunset. It is also known from the Rigveda that Indra , the god of the thunderstorm, who once, while intoxicated, broke his chariot with a club, is at odds with Ushas.

The Sanskrit word uṣas comes from the pre-Indo-European root * hausos , from which also come the words Greek Eos , Latin Aurora , Russian morning , Armenian ush (in the meaning of predawn time). Based on this, the dawn deity can be considered quite ancient, rooted in the era of Indo-European unity .