The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c16.s5.5

v1.c16.s5.5

The word *vivasvant* is used occasionally as an epithet of Agni and Uṣas in the etymological sense of shining forth, which is specially appropriate in the goddess Dawn. The Çatapatha Brāhmaṇa³ explains the god Vivasvant’s name by the doctrine that he illumines night and day, which are connected with him in the Rigveda: it calls him Āditya, and this name is elsewhere found in the Yajurveda,⁴ and in post-Vedic literature Vivasvant is a name of the sun.