Vedic Mythology c5.s5.t1.1.1

c5.s5.t1.1.1

Goddesses occupy a very subordinate position in Vedic belief and worship. They play hardly any part as rulers of the world. The only one of any importance is Uṣas, who judged by the statistical standard ranks as a deity of the third class (p. 20). But, unlike nearly all the gods, she received no share in the Soma offering¹. Next to her comes Sarasvatī (§ 33), who, however, only ranks with the lowest class of deities. A few other goddesses are praised in one hymn each. Pṛthivī, hardly separable from Dyaus, is praised in one short hymn of three stanzas (§ 34). Rātrī, Night, is also invoked in one hymn (10, 127). Like her sister Dawn, she is called the daughter of Heaven. She is not conceived as the dark, but as the bright starlit night. She shines manifoldly with her eyes. Decked with all splendour, she fills the valleys and heights, driving away the darkness with light. At her approach men return home like birds to their nests. She is invoked to keep away the wolf and the thief, guiding her worshippers to safety. Night probably became a goddess by way of antithesis to Dawn, with whom she is invoked in several verses as a dual divinity² (pp. 48. 129). Vāc, personified Speech, is celebrated in one hymn (10, 125 cp. 71), in which she describes herself. She accompanies all the gods and supports Mitra-Varuṇa, Indra-Agni, and the Aśvins. She bends Rudra's bow against the unbeliever. Her place is in the waters, the sea. She encompasses all beings. In another passage (8, 89[^10.