The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c19.s7.5

v1.c19.s7.5

The name appears to mean 'he who scatters the curd', and from the name and his general divine appearance Roth¹ holds that he is none other than the sun in the form of a swift steed. With this agrees the fact that the sun is constantly associated with Uṣas, that it is compared to or identified with a steed, and that it is said to be a bird. Bergaigne's² view that lightning is specially referred to may be supported by the swiftness ascribed to the steed, but it is not clear that the conception could possibly be explained, unless the sun were taken as meant. The alternative view of Ludwig,³ Pischel,⁴ and Oldenberg⁵ sees in the steed a real horse, a famous race-horse, which won its fame by its swift pace, but this is to exaggerate beyond all possible measure the value attached by the Vedic Indians to the sport of horse-racing.