Usha (goddess)

Ushas
Goddess of Dawn
Devanagari	उषस्
Affiliation	Devi
Mount	Golden Chariot
Personal Information
Siblings	Ratri
Greek equivalent	Eos
Roman equivalent	Aurora

Ushas (उषस्; uṣas) 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 Hinduism.

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. Some of the most beautiful hymns in the Vedas are dedicated to her. Her sister is Ratri, or the night.

Sanskrit uṣas is derived from the Sanskrit word uṣa which means "dawn". This root is related to Indo-European root for dawn, and is related to "héōs" in Greek, "ušā" in Avestan, "aušrà" in Lithuanian, and the basis for the word "east" in Indo-European traditions, state Mallory and Adams.

Uṣas is an s-stem, i.e. the genitive case is uṣásas, whereby it connotes "dawn goddess" in Indo-European languages. Ushas is related to the Proto-Indo-European goddess *h₂ausos-. Her cognates in other Indo-European pantheons include the Greek goddess Eos, the Roman goddess Aurora, the Lithuanian goddess Austrine, and the English goddess Ēostre (OE: ēastre), whose name is probably the root of the modern English word "Easter."

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