The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c19.s7.40

v1.c19.s7.40

There are, however, some traces of real reverence of animals, more certain than that of the tortoise, and more direct in origin than that of the cow whose divinity is really on the growth in the Vedic period. Thus in the case of birds the Rigveda⁵ twice invokes a bird of omen to give auspicious signs: it relegates, however, the owl and the pigeon to the rank of the messengers of Yama, but it is reasonable in this case to suggest more direct reverence of a sort at an early period. It must, however, be admitted that this cannot be proved: even in the later literature⁶ the owl is styled the messenger of the evil spirits, and the beast of prey, covered with blood, and the vulture, which preys on the dead, are called the messengers of Yama, or of Yama and Bhava. A bird king is Tārkṣya Vaipaçyata according to the Çatapatha Brāhmaṇa.⁷