The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c17.s1.28

v1.c17.s1.28

Another myth tells of the slaying of the three-headed Viçvarūpa by Indra:⁴ it is, however, clear that this is a more modern form of a myth in which Viçvarūpa was slain by Trita, for this form of the myth appears in the Rigveda, and in the Avesta Thraētaona is said to slay a three-headed serpent with six eyes, freeing thus two fair ladies. In the classical myths of Herakles and Geryoneus, and of Hercules and Cacus, the monsters have likewise three heads, and, when slain, the hero wins the cattle which they have taken and hidden away. The motive of winning cows is found also in the Viçvarūpa myth, and it is perfectly clear that these four myths are one and the same in nature: in the case of the Avesta the part of restoring lost cattle has past over to Ahura himself, who is *par excellence* the discoverer of lost things.