Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s11.706

v1.c3.s11.706

Kṛka-vāku, the ‘cock,’ being named in the Atharvaveda¹ with sheep, goats, and other domesticated animals, was presumably tamed.² In the list of victims at the horse sacrifice in the Yajurveda,³ it appears as dedicated to Savitṛ: Yāska⁴ explains this by the fact that it declares the time of day (*kālānuvāda*). The commentator Mahīdhara⁵ explains the name by *tāmra-cūḍa*, ‘red-crested.’ It is of course onomatopoetic (‘calling kṛka’).⁶ See also Kukkuṭa.