Ushas

Ushas (Vedic Sanskrit: , , nominative singular उषास्) is a Vedic goddess of dawn in Hinduism. She repeatedly appears in the Rigvedic hymns, states David Kinsley, where she is "consistently identified with dawn, revealing herself with the daily coming of light to the world, driving away oppressive darkness, chasing away evil demons, rousing all life, setting all things in motion, sending everyone off to do their duties". She is the life of all living creatures, the impeller of action and breath, the foe of chaos and confusion, the auspicious arouser of cosmic and moral order called the Ṛta in Sanskrit. Ushas is the most exalted goddess in the Rig Veda, but not as important or central as the three male Vedic deities Agni, Soma, and Indra. She is on par with other major male Vedic deities. She is portrayed as a beautifully adorned young woman riding in a golden chariot or a hundred chariots, drawn by golden red horses or cows, on her path across the sky, making way for the Vedic sun god Surya, who is referred either as her husband or her son. Some analysts describe several of the hymns dedicated to her in the Vedas as the most beautiful. Her sister is "Nisha" or Ratri, the deity of night.

Ushas (Vedic Sanskrit: , , nominative singular उषास्) is a Vedic goddess of dawn in Hinduism. She repeatedly appears in the Rigvedic hymns, states David Kinsley, where she is "consistently identified with dawn, revealing herself with the daily coming of light to the world, driving away oppressive darkness, chasing away evil demons, rousing all life, setting all things in motion, sending everyone off to do their duties". She is the life of all living creatures, the impeller of action and breath, the foe of chaos and confusion, the auspicious arouser of cosmic and moral order called the Ṛta in Sanskrit. Ushas is the most exalted goddess in the Rig Veda, but not as important or central as the three male Vedic deities Agni, Soma, and Indra. She is on par with other major male Vedic deities. She is portrayed as a beautifully adorned young woman riding in a golden chariot or a hundred chariots, drawn by golden red horses or cows, on her path across the sky, making way for the Vedic sun god Surya, who is referred either as her husband or her son. Some analysts describe several of the hymns dedicated to her in the Vedas as the most beautiful. Her sister is "Nisha" or Ratri, the deity of night.

Description

Ushas is the prominent goddess of dawn in the Vedas. She is depicted as the one who imbues all beings with life, as the "life of all life" and "breath of all breaths", according to Jones and Ryan. She is revered as the deity who revivifies earth each day, drives away the chaos and the darkness, sets all things in motion, sends all living beings to do their duties in the Vedas. Ushas is the most important goddess in the Vedic literature, but she is not as important as the three central male deities named Agni, Soma, and Indra. She is mentioned in far fewer hymns than these three, but at least as much as all other male and female deities in the Vedas.

See also

Aušra, Lithuanian goddess of dawn Chhaya Ēostre Ratri Surya Marici (Buddhism) Saranyu Shani Disani Ame-no-Uzume

References

Bibliography

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1375329097 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.