Gods and Goddesses
Indu Kush
Hindu (Vedic)
Usas

ORIGIN: Hindu (Vedic)

TYPE: Goddess of the dawn

INFORMATION: The daughter of Dyaus and, according to some texts, the consort of the sun god Surya. An auspicious deity, Usas brings the dawn, heralding Surya, and drives away darkness. She is the all-seeing eye of the gods. In the Rg Veda she is depicted as a beautiful youn virginal figure who rides in a hundred chariots. She sets all thing in motion ans can render strength and fame to her devotees. In addition to being perceived as a sky goddess, she is also drawn as a mother goddess in the guise of a cow. Epithets include "mother of the gods" and "mother of cows". She is invoked to give the boon of longevity, but a more malignant aspect reveals her as a huntress who wastes human life. Usas sometimes enjoys domestic worship as a guardian hearth goddess who drives away darkness and evil spirits. She disappears, however, from the later traditions of Hinduism.