Usha is the Goddess of spiritual consciousness whose outer or physical symbol is the physical Dawn. The symbol is so amenable for poetic metaphors at the hands of the inspired poets of Rigveda that one is apt to view Usha simply as the physical dawn and miss the deeper meanings of these hymns. As Sri Aurobindo says, "In the veda, there are no merely ornamental epithets. Each word is meant to tell, to add something to the sense and bear a strict relation to the thought of the sentence in which it occurs."

The deity Usha is lauded in about twenty sūktās of the Rigveda. She is also prominently mentioned in the ten apri sūktās and other sūktās. A careful reading of all these sūktās indicates that many of the functions and characteristics attributed to the Goddess do not make sense if we simply interpret her as the physical dawn as many of the Western indologists and their Indian followers are wont to do. Usha signifies the dawn of divine consciousness in the individual aspirant. The physical dawn which we see every morning is a physical symbol of this divinity. The onset of the divine consciousness indicates to us the existence of the higher worlds of bliss and perfection which are beyond the pale of our ordinary consciousness. By divine consciousness we mean the consciousness of the various Gods like Indra, Varuņa, etc., both individually and in toto. When the God Varuņa's power manifests in man - symbolically referred to as the birth of Varuņa in man - the consciousness of the human aspirant is widened by Varuņa's power since wideness is characteristic of Varuņa. The narrowness of outlook characteristic of our ordinary human condition is washed away, as it were, like the tropical monsoon washes away all the dirt in the streets. We are less prone to be critical of other people, less prone to magnify the limitations of people around us, have more faith in the ability of the divine to bring about greater harmony and progress among all of us, and in our collaboration with the divine. Similarly, when Indra is born in man, the person becomes fearless and mighty. The God Mitra's influence endows the aspirant's atmosphere with friendship, love and harmony among all the beings of the universe, both animate and inanimate. The Goddess Sarama endows us with the power of intuition and the Goddess Ila, the power of revelation of the divine happenings which are covered by our ordinary consciousness. Of course the manifestation of the full power of each God in man is not instantaneous. It takes time. There are periods of rapid advance and there are periods in which nothing changes. Again the light of Usha dawns prior to the complete realization of truth light.

We will give here just one mantra to show that the Usha cannot be limited to the physical dawn. Lover of praises, O Usha, deathless one, which mortal is fit to enjoy thee? O luminous one, whom does thou attain? (1.30.20).

To see and enjoy the ordinary physical dawn, no special capacity is required. Only the eyesight is enough. The exclamation "which mortal if fit to enjoy thee" clearly implies that only rare persons have the good fortune of having the experience of Usha. Thus Usha cannot be the ordinary dawn.

How does the Dawn emerge? The answer is in several mantras, one of which is given below. satyamantra ajanayan ushasam. (7.76.4). By the truth in their thoughts, they brought to birth the Dawn. (7.76.4)

The seeker has to open himself systematically to the reign of Truth, rejecting the rule of falsehood. His mind and its activity of thinking must be filled with the movements of truth. Truth in thought, truth in feeling, truth in speech, must become normal to his life. It is only then that the Dawn consents to manifest and open the gates of Heaven. Just as the physical dawn and day do not last long, alternating with the night, similarly the dawn of divine consciousness in man does not last long. It is followed by the condition of ordinary consciousness, appropriately termed "nakta" or "night."

The Goddess Usha is often with the deity "nakta" (night) and the combined phrase "nakta-ushas" or "ushanakta" occurs more than twenty times in the Rigveda. We need to understand the relationship between these two deities. nakta is the same as the deity "ratri" for whom there is a sūkta (RV 10.127). The first reference to Usha in the Rigveda is in (RV 1.13.7), one of the mantras of an apri sūkta, where she is paired with the night. naktoshasa supeshasa sman yajna upahvaye idam no barhira sade. (RV 1.13.7) I call in this sacrifice Night and Dawn, beautiful of form, to arrive at our seat. (RV 1.13.7) Dawn and Night, we seek with desire Two mighty mothers of the Truth with their fair front to us, who increase our beings space. (RV 5.5.6) Common, unending is the path of the sisters; Guided by the Sun alternately, they travel; Well-lighted, different in hues, common-minded, Night and Dawn do not clash, neither to they tarry. (RV 1.113.3)

In all these mantrās, nakta or naktās stands for our ordinary consciousness which is open to all sorts of forces and influences, including that from the great darkness "tamaĥ." Note that the rig vedic seers make a clear distinction everywhere between "naktās" and "tamaĥ," the enveloping darkness which is the haunt of inertia and forces of darkness like the demons, rākşhasās, pisachas, etc. When Usha, the divine consciousness arrives, so do all other Gods except Agni, the leader of our journey, the God of aspiration, who is always active and is putting the pressure on us and propels us toward the higher goals. When the human aspiration reaches a certain level, Usha makes her appearance, signifying the onset of divine consciousness and she brings the other Gods or powers. Usha literally opens the doors in our inner being and allows the divine light to flood our inner beings. The opening of the doors of inner being which are usually closed is a capital experience in spiritual life, popularized later in the tāntrik literature. We find this experience mentioned repeatedly in the Rigveda as in (RV 1.113.4) below and (RV 1.48.15), etc. The opening of the inner doors is mentioned explicitly in all the ten apri sūktās to be mentioned later. bha svati netri sunŗtānām acheti chitra vi duro na avaĥ. prapyar jagadyu no rayo akhyat ushaĥ aji ga bhuvanāni vishva. (RV 1.113.4) Brilliant guide to happy truths is Usha of many hues. She has opened our doors. Lighting up the entire world, she has illuminated wealth for us. She issues forth all the worlds. (1.113.4)

When the divine consciousness dawns on us, it cannot last very long because the human vital which clamours for excitement cannot appreciate the bliss of the divine consciousness which is suffused with calm and is untinged with sorrow. The ordinary human mental personality which loves to wallow in doubts is not comfortable with the certitude offered by the divine consciousness. Thus Usha, the divine consciousness, recedes from the human and in its place, naktās, the night or the ordinary consciousness takes its place. During this period, the great God Agni keeps up the pressure on all the members of the human personality and prepares it for another onrush of the divine consciousness, Usha. Thus dawn and night alternate, as indicated below. apasvasaram sanutarthuyoti (RV 1.92.11). In secret she separates her sister (RV 1.92.11). araik krishna sadani asyah (RV 1.113.2). The dark night has vacated dwellings.

The two sisters do not clash nor do they tarry (RV 1.113.6). "There is a constant rhythm and alternation of night and dawn, illuminations of the Light and periods of exile from it, openings up of our darkness and its settling upon us once more, till the Celestial Birth is accomplished and again it is fulfilled in its greatness, knowledge, love and power. These later nights are other than these of utter darkness which are dreaded as the occasion of the enemy, the haunt of the demons of division who devour; these are rather the pleasant nights, the divine and blessed ones who equally labour for our growth. Night and Dawn are then of different forms but one mind and suckle alternately the luminous child". They are commonly referred to as "two sisters," beautiful of form (RV 1.13.7, 5.5.6). They are both called as "mighty mothers of the Truth" (RV 5.5.6). Usha is associated with Aditi, the mother of undivided consciousness, the mother of Gods, the supreme creatrix. nakta is associated with "Diti," the mother of divided consciousness. Their path is said to be unending (RV 1.113.3) and they are said to increase our beings space (RV 5.5.6).

The goddess Usha is termed as having many hues (RV 1.113.4) or variegated since she helps in the manifestation of (or brings in) the various other deities or powers. The wealth she gives us is not limited to the material. She allows all the latent powers to manifest and hence issues forth all the worlds (RV 1.113.4).

Usha and nakta are also referred to as "different in hue," "viūupe" (RV 1.113.3). This phrase is often interpreted as its external meaning, namely night is characterized by darkness whereas the Dawn is associated with the rosy color of the rising Sun and other multifarious colors. Here the hue refers to the psychological character of the divine and ordinary consciousness.

There is always the mention of the Usha who has dawned in the past. Phrases like these would not be used by the Seers who display extraordinary abilities if they were merely referring to the regular recurring physical dawn and night. Before the full illumination of the solar glory of Truth Light, the sacrificer has several experiences of the consciousness of the dawns of knowledge. These are termed as the dawns of the past. The divine Ushas hat dawned and dawned again. (1.48.3) She follows the path of the Dawns that are past. parayati nam anveti sadhu. (RV 1.113.8) First of eternal dawns to come.

There are several verses in which Usha is lauded as dispelling the thick darkness. pratyarchi rushadasya adarshi vithishtate bhadhate krishnam abhvam. (RV 1.92.5) Her radiant lustre beheld again, spreads everywhere and dispels darkness. (RV 1.92.5) atarishma tamasah param asya ushah ucchanti vāyuna krnoti. (RV 1.92.6) We have crossed over to the other share of darkness, Leaving darkness, she prepares discoveries of knowledge. (RV 1.92.6)

In the first line of 1.92.6, the rişhi Gotama Rahugana praises the deity in joyous exultation after having her experience in his inner being. Some modern commentators think that this line only indicates that the seers were afraid of the darkness and all the beings associated with it like the goblins. The vedic seers do not know that dawn and night alternate and they perform the vedic ritual. When the physical dawn arises, they feel the effectiveness of their ritual and this gives rise to the explanation in the first line of 1.92.6. A moment's reflection will reveal the hollowness of the argument. Morning vedic ritual - yajňa - is performed only after the onset of physical dawn. There is no need to pray for the dawn when it is already there. The vedic sages were very well aware of the alternations of the physical night and physical dawn as given by the riks "The actions of the Gods are undeviating" (RV 1.124.2), "It (dawn) follows well the path of Truth."

Note also the next line of 1.92.6 which clearly says "Dawn prepares fresh discoveries of knowledge." Clearly what is meant here is not the physical dawn, but the Goddess of Truth who brings fresh revelation of knowledge at each advent.

Let us mention some other specific descriptions used for Usha which clearly indicate that Usha is not merely the physical Dawn, but is the goddess of solar radiance who manifests herself in advance before the rise of the Sun which symbolizes the rise or beginning of the Sun of Truth hymned on the Vedās as the "Supernal Light."

Words connected with rta (Truth)

The word satya signifies that which is the eternal, the supreme, existence in its own from sat. rtam signifies that which is evident or perceptible, manifested out of the satya, what has come to be in accordance with satya or that which represents the satya. rta is the Truth in manifestation. Usha is the guardian of this rta and she manifests it.

rtapa: guardian of Truth (1.113.12)

rteja: one who manifests the Truth (1.113.12) {rtasya~passtham} under anveti sadhu... ...praja nativa na diso minati (1.124.3). She moves according to the path of the Truth And, as one that knows, she limits not the regions (1.124.3) dyutad-ya ma nam brhatam rtena rtavarim svar a vahantim (5.80.1) Of a luminous movement, vast with the Truth, Supreme in the Truth, bringing with her svar (5.80.1).

Note the use of the word "svar," the fourth vyahriti, the mahas, the vast, the world of solar light. vyusa a vo divija rtena, aviskrnva na mahimanam a gat (7.75.1)

Dawn born in heaven opens out things by the Truth, She comes manifesting the greatness. (7.75.1) bhadra rtaja tasatyah (4.51.7). Happy and tru born from the Truth (4.51.7). rtasya devi hi sadaso bhudhana. The Goddesses who awake from the seat of Truth. (4.51.8) Horses of Usha are yoked to Truth. (4.51.5) She is born from Truth. (4.51.5) Usha and night are mothers of Truth. (5.5.6) Usha follows the path of Truth. (1.124.3) satya satyebhir mahati mahadbhir devi devebhih. (7.75.7) Dawn, true in her being with the Gods who are true Vast with Gods who are vast. (7.75.1)

"sunrtanam netri": impeller of happy truths (1.113.4)

"sunrta i rayanti": impeller of true and happy words. Giver of wealth.

rayah in veda always denotes spiritual wealth which does not exclude material wealth. saha vamena...uccha...dyumnena brhata,...raya. (1.48.1) Dawn on us with great blissful prosperity, with the glory of the vast, with divine wealth. naĥ rayaĥ vyakhyat. She has illumined the spiritual wealth for us. (1.113.4) Other adjectives of Usha.

yuvati: eternally youthful (1.113.7).

shukravasah: robed with light (1.113.7).

subhage: blissful one, rich in joy (10.70.6, 1.36.6).

yavayad-dvesha: scatterer of foes (1.113.12).

sumangali: most auspicious (1.113.12).

devavi bartim: manifests the advents of Gods (1.113.12).

shreshtatama: most excellent (1.113.12).

Usha, the goddess of illumination first activates the inner being or the soul (jiva) to come forward and she prepares the path for all the Sun's powers to pervade all the parts of our being, physical, vital, mental, etc., and carry us to the supramental home of Truth which has an abundance of the powers of life and other powers. Note the use of the word "jiva" which in the esoteric expression always means the "soul," the essence of man which participates in divine action. Usha propels the "soul" toward divine action and gives expression to the thought of the soul in the form of inspired speech or mantrās.

"jivam udarayanti" impels the jīva to move upward and forward (1.113.8). "mritam bodhayanti" awakens someone who is like dead, devoid of the glow of immortality (1.113.8). praminati manusya yagani (1.124.2, 1.92.11). devi martasya ayuh jarayanti (1.92.10). She strikes at the mortal span, and replaces it with immortality.

Each advent of the Goddess Usha gives fresh spiritual experiences for the seer which manifest in the form of speech or mantrās. vishvam jeevam charase bodhayanti vishvasya vacham avidan mana yoho. (1.92.9) Awakening every person (jīva) she propels them towards divine actions. She creates expression for the thought of the soul. (1.92.9)

In the translations where Usha is identified with physical dawn, this verse (1.92.9) is translated to mean that the physical dawn activates all the living beings like birds, animals, etc., to movement and speech. This translation ignores the word "manayoĥ" ,which can only mean thought of humans. The use of the word "jīva" exclusively for the "soul" and not to an ordinary living being is clear in (1.113.16). udīrdvam jīvo asurna agādapa prāgāttama ā jyotireti āraikpanthām yātave sūryāyāganma yatra pratiranta āyuĥ (1.113.6). Arise! Our inner being (jīva) has emerged; The darkness has departed; light approaches, It (soul) opens the way for the sun's rays (to permeate us). Let us repair to the home of truth where life increases. (1.113.16) mata devanam aditeh ani kam yajnasya ketuh brhati vibahi prashastikrt brahmane nah viuccha a nah jane janaya vishvavare. (1.113.19) Mother of the Gods, face of the infinite, the vast vision that awakes from the sacrifice, she creates expression (mantra) for the thought of the soul and gives us universal birth in all that is born. (1.113.19)

The word "Aditi" is translated here as "infinite." "brhti" always stands for the plane of the vast, the plane of mahas, the fourth vyahriti. Usha's vision is vast. ketu can only mean ray or vision. Its translation as "ensign" is typical of the translations which emphasize the outward ritual associated with the yajna. brahmana always means mantra. She creates the appropriate mantra for expressing the thought of the soul. The seer prays to Usha to be born or manifest amidst us so that we can march to the higher worlds.

In the earlier mantras, we have spoken of the role played by Usha in helping the seers who have already taken to the spiritual path to go forward. But what about the persons who are beginners or who are not even aware of the existence of spiritual vistas? "Opulent Usha sets the lazy on the right course - one for enjoyment, one for sacrifice, one for wealth. To those seeing little, she gives extended vision. Usha issues forth all the worlds." (1.113.5) One to hero-strength, one to divine hearing, one to great sacrifice, one to pursue high gain - all to follow their different vocations, Usha issues forth the worlds. (1.113.6)

Usha creates the appropriate conditions for each person to progress. One who has propensities toward heroism gets the appropriate opportunity. Persons who want enjoyment or physical wealth or occult powers obtain the desired ends without being aware of the help provided by the Goddess. Slowly she extends the vision of these persons and brings to their attention forces and powers of which humans are only instruments. Thus Usha creates a separate world, as it were, for each individual.

Another common descriptor of Usha is "Ashvavati Gomati" (1.48.2, 7.80.3). It is often translated as "giver of horses, giver of cows" without making much sense. How does the physical dawn give horses or cows? Ashva in the Veda always stands for the life-powers or vital energies leading to the actions for the enjoyment of the all pervading bliss. "Go" in the veda stands for the rays of consciousness of knowledge. Therefore, the rishi prays to Usha for the grant of the powers of life and powers of intelligence. sa asmasu dha gomad-ashvavat uktyah usho vajam suviryam. (1.48.12) Usha, do thou establish in us the plenitude of intelligences, life powers and hero might lauded in the hymns. (1.48.12).

"vajram" denotes plenitude. The seer prays to Usha to establish in him all the powers so that he may progress onward in his quest toward perfection. praja vato nrvato ashvabudhyan usho govgrah upa ma si vajan. (1.92.7) O Usha thou gives the bounty of progeny, heroes known for steeds, fronted by cows. (1.92.7)

Progeny always stands for the transmission of knowledge, not merely biological children. The seer prays that the divine knowledge may be preserved in his community aided by a high level of vital and mental energies signified by horses and cows.

Let us consider the mantras in which the words dvipada (translated commonly as two-footed) and chatushpada (four-footed) are used which are interpreted as the humans and animals activated by Dawn. dvipade used in (1.49.3) refers in the esoteric interpretation to the two states of consciousness of the human aspirant, the ordinary consciousness, the condition of obscurity and the divine consciousness, the condition of Light. Similarly the word chatushpade (1.49.3) refers to the four planes of earth (bhuĥ), mid region (bhuvaĥ), the mind (suvaĥ) and the great vast (mahas) which have been attained by this seer. Again the phrases "patatriņah" (1.49.3), "ut patayanti pakshinah" (1.48.5) and "paptivamsah vayah" are interpreted as "birds" which are activated by the onset of dawn in the external sense. However, "birds" in the Veda always stand for the upward movements and seeking for knowledge which soar upward to the heavenly regions. This point is made very specific in the 1.49.3. vayahchitte patatrino dvipachhatushpadarjuni usha praran rtun anudivo antebhyaspari (1.49.3). Twin stationed, four stepped with high soaring energies Moving fast beyond the heavenly regions, the sacrificer follows thy advents, O fair Usha. (1.49.3)

We have interpreted "vayachitte patatrino" as high soaring energies and not merely as birds because of the subsequent phrase "moving fat beyond the heavenly regions." Clearly this phrase has to be interpreted as a poetic exaggeration for birds. When the mantra is interpreted in its spiritual sense, the meaning flows smoothly.

Similarly in 1.48.6, the phrase "Soaring birds rest not" "vayah nakirasate" can only mean the seekings of knowledge of the inner sacrificer which soar upward. The symbolism of birds for the powers of knowledge soaring upward to the higher planes is fairly common in Rigveda. See, for instance, the hymns to Varuņa (1.25.4, 1.25.7). The mantra of Vamadeva (4.51.5) explicitly mentions that the phrases "dvipad" and "chatushpad" refer to the movements of the jiva, the soul. "dvipachatushpada-charayayah jivam (4.51.5). "jivam" is used in the Rigveda only for the soul. Hence, "chatushpad" cannot mean "four-footed." It can only mean the soul which can traverse the four planes or vyahritus mentioned earlier. Again consider (1.164.41) dealing with speech which uses the words "one-footed," "two-footed," "four-footed," "eight-footed," etc. Clearly animals or insects are not referred to here, but the spiritual meanings mentioned earlier. gauri mimaya salilani takshat akapadi dwipadi sa chatushpadi  ashtapadi navapadi bhabhu vushi sahasrakshara parame vyoman (1.164.41). Fashioning the waters, the radiant cow of speech hath lowed, one-footed, two-footed, yea, four-footed. She of the eight feet hath become nine-footed, the thousand immutable letters in the sky supernal. There is another complementary interpretation of the twin deities Night and Day suggested by Sri Kāpāli Sāstry, while discussing a set of sūktās in Rigveda entitled apri hymns. apri means "to fill." During the inner worship or sacrifice, the human yajamana implores Agni and the other higher powers of God, through Agni, to come down and fill him with their powers. The primary deity in these hymns in Agni even though these hymns mention and invoke other gods like Indra, Iļa, Saraswati, Mahi, Usha, etc. A special feature of Agni is that in his heavenward activity he is endowed with attributes that distinguish severally the other gods of the vedic system while retaining his distinguishing feature of the Divine will that is initially born as the flame of human aspiration to the divine.

There are about ten apri sūktās, viz 1.13, 1.142, 1.188, 2.3, 3.4, 5.5, 7.2, 9.5, 10.70, 10.110. Each sūkta has ten to thirteen mantrās, the sixth or seventh mantra is dedicated to the twin deities Night and Dawn.

Day, in another way, represents the broad open light, the light of consciousness in which the different powers or the different deities are beheld severally. Usha is said to bring in all the other Gods. Each God has a distinct power. Wideness characterizes Varuņa. Mightiness characterizes Indra. Moon is full of charm. Rudra is fierce and terrible. Maruts are impetuous and swift. Mitra is tender, kind and loving. Brahmaņaspati is the great harmonizer, etc. "Night represents a concentration and self absorption in the consciousness, an intensity of self-gathering in what we may call the immobile, static existence in which all is absorbed". All the powers are latent in the condition. Night represents the "seed" condition whereas the "Day" represents the manifested condition. The seers realized the need for both the states of consciousness. Hence in the apri mantra (1.13.7) quoted earlier, both the deities night and day are called upon to their seat for worship and they both have auspicious form "supeshasa".

The need for their appearance is clear from the other apri mantras. sadhvapamsi sanata na ukshite usha sanakta vayyeva rnvate, tantum tatam samyanti samichi yajnasya peshah sudughe payasvati (2.3.6) Milch cows, good milers, pouring out on us, may Night and Dawn, eternal and equal sisters, come like weaving women, full of gladness, weaving out the weft that is spun, the weft of our perfected works into a shape of sacrifice. (2.3.6).

Note the phrase "eternal and equal" sisters. Both of them together weave the cloth of our works, make it perfect and render it a yajna, translated as sacrifice, which is an arrangement of works reflecting the harmony of all the powers of Universe.

Both Night and Day prepare the yajamāna for the manifestation of the various powers of Gods in him. This idea is clear from the apri mantra (3.4.6). May night and dawn differently formed in their body, Be joined close and smile on us in their gladness, So that Mitra may take pleasure in us and Varuņa or Indra with the life gods. (3.4.6).

Notice that here the night and day are prayed to be "joined close." Note the significance of invoking both night and dawn together so that the consciousness of the rishi becomes familiar with both the forms. uta yoshane divye mahi na ushasanakta sudhugheva dhenuk barhishada puruhu te maghoni a yagniye suvitaya shrayetam. (7.2.6) May too dawn and night, matrons great and divine, like good milch-cows, queens of sacrifice, queens of plenty called by many seekers, sit on the sacred grass And lodge with us for our happiness. (7.2.6)

Both Usha and Dawn together bring happiness to the rishi. surukme hi supeshasa adhi shriya vira jatah, ushasa veha si datam. (1.188.6) With gay adornment, fair to see, in glorious beauty shine they forth Let night and morning rest them here. sushilpe brhati mahi pavamano vrshanyati naktoshasa na darshate (9.5.6). Night and Dawn, beautifully formed, vast and lofty beauteous maidens, pavamana longs for. (9.5.6). devi divo duhitara sushilpe usha sa nakta sadata mni yonau, avam deva sa ushati ushanta urau si dantu subhage upaste (10.70.6). Let the two divine daughters of heaven, formed beautifully, dawn and night, sit in their native seat. O dawn and night, O you who aspire, O blissful ones, may the Gods aspiring sit on your wide lap. (10.70.6)

As Sri Kapāli says, "It is this twin aspect of consciousness with necessary variation in its connotation that is the origin and support of the dictum of the upanishad that both 'knowledge and ignorance' must be known together. He who knows THAT as both in one, the knowledge and ignorance, by ignorance crosses beyond death and by the knowledge enjoys immortality" (īsha upanishad).

This isha upanishad passage clearly says that both knowledge and ignorance have to be known together, and "We have heard it from the wise ones of your, who explained thus to us" iti shushruma dhi ranam ye nastad vicacaksire (īsha upanishad)

Who else could be these wise ones but the mystics of vedic wisdom, "dhirah"?

 We may also note that this concept of Day and night is expressed figuratively in the famous passage of the Bhagavad gīta (2.69) ya ni sa sarvabhūtānam tasyam jagarti samyami yasyam jagrti bhutani sanisapasyati museh. "That (higher being) which is to all creatures a night, is to the self mastering sage his waking (his luminous day of true being, knowledge and power); the life of the dualities which is to them their waking (their day, their condition of activity) is a night (a troubled sleep and darkness of the soul) to the sage who sees" (2.26).

To confirm the different interpretation of the deity night, we will quote two other mantras, one taken from the ratri sūkta, the sūkta dedicated to the deity night by the seer, daughter of Bharadwaja (10.127) and the other from the fifth book (5.84) of the Atri family of seers. O vipra amartya nivato devyudvatah; jyotisha badhate tamah. (10.127.2) The Goddess immortal, she fills the vast, the high and the low places; she repels darkness with light.

This (10.127.2) is the rik used by the tantriks for invoking the goddess Kali. varshantu te vibhavari divo abrasya vidyatah 1 rohantu sarvabijanyava brahmadvijo jahi  O Night, disguising the light, May the lightnings of thy divine cloud pour down. May all the seeds grow; strike down the haters of the Divine (appendix of 5.84)

Usha is mentioned along with the twin-deities Ashvins in many hymns as their beloved, again indicating the psychological character of Usha. Ashvins are gods "full of capacity for enjoyment, drinkers of the honey of the soma, donors of the health to the sick, physicians. They speed like buds." Usha, their beloved, goes riding in their chariot. Usha is also mentioned as the daughter of Sūrya, the supreme Truth-Light (7.75.5)

The Divine Dawn (RV 3.61)

1.            Dawn, richly stored with substance, conscious cleave to the affirmation of him who expresses thee, O thou of the plenitudes. Goddess, ancient, yet ever young thou movest many-thoughted following the law of thy activities, O bearer of every boon.

2.            Dawn divine, Shine out immortal in thy car of happy light sending forth the pleasant voices of the Truth. May steeds well-guided bear thee here who are golden-brilliant of hue and wide their might.

3.            Dawn, confronting all the worlds thou standest high-uplifted and art their perception of Immortality; do thou move over them like a wheel, O new Day, traveling over an equal field.

4.            Dawn in her plenitude like one that lets fall from her a sewn robe moves, the bride of the Bliss; creating Swar, perfect in her working, perfect in her enjoying, she widens from the extremity of Heaven over the earth.

5.            Meet ye the Dawn as she shines wide towards you and with surrender bring forward your complete energy. Exalted in heaven is the force to which she rises establishing the sweetness; she makes the luminous worlds to shine forth and is a vision of felicity.

6.            By heaven’s illuminings one perceives her a bearer of the Truth and rapturous she comes with its varied light into the two firmaments. From Dawn as she approaches shining out on thee, O Agni, thou seekest and attainest to the substance of delight.

7.            Putting forth his impulsions in the foundation of the Truth, in the foundation of the Dawns, their Lord enters the Vastness of the firmaments. Vast the wisdom of Varuņa, of Mitra, as in a happy brightness, orders multitudinously the Light.  

COMMENTARY

Sūrya Sāvitri in his task of illumination follows the progress of the Dawn. In another hymn the movements of the mind have been described as growing conscient and brilliant by the bright power of the continuous Dawns. Throughout the Veda Usha, daughter of Heaven, has always the same function. She is the medium of the awakening, the activity and the growth of the other gods; she is the first condition of the Vedic realisation. By her increasing illumination the whole nature of man is clarified; through her he arrives at the Truth, through her he enjoys the Beatitude. The divine dawn of the rişhis is the advent of the divine Light throwing off veil after veil and revealing in man's activities the luminous godhead. In that light the Work is done, the sacrifice offered and its desirable fruits gathered by humanity.

Many are the hymns, indeed, in which rich and beautiful figures of the earthly dawn veil this inner truth of the goddess Uşha, but in this hymn of the great rişhi Vishwāmitra the psychological symbolism of the Vedic Dawn is apparent from beginning to end by open expressions and on the surface of the thought. "O Dawn rich of store in thy substance," he cries to her, "conscient cleave to the affirmation of him who expresses thee, O thou who hast the plenitudes." The word prachetas and the related word, vichetas, are standing terms of Vedic phraseology; they seem to correspond to the ideas expressed in later language by the Vedantic prajnana and vijnana. Prajnana is the consciousness that cognizes all things as objects confronting its observation; in the divine mind it is knowledge regarding things as their source, possessor and witness. Vijnana is comprehensive knowledge containing, penetrating into things, pervading them in consciousness by a sort of identification with their truth. Usha is to occupy the revealing thought and word of the rişhi as a power of Knowledge conscient of the truth of all that is placed by them before the mind for expression in man. The affirmation, it is suggested, will be full and ample; for Usha is vājena vajini, maghoni; rich is the store of her substance; she has all the plenitudes.

This dawn moves in her progression always according to the rule of a divine action; many are the thoughts she brings in that motion, but her steps are sure and all desirable things, all supreme boons, the boons of the Ananda, the blessings of the divine existence, - are in her hands. She is ancient and eternal, the dawn of the Light that was from the beginning, purāņi, but in her coming she is ever young and fresh to the soul that receives her.

She is to shine wide, she that is the divine Dawn, as the light of the immortal existence bringing out in man the powers or the voices of Truth and Joy, (sūnŗtaĥ, - a word which expresses at once both the true and the pleasant); for is not the chariot of her movement a car at once of light and of happiness? For again, the word candra in candraratha, - signifying also the lunar deity Soma, lord of the delight of immortality pouring into man, ananda and amŗta, - means both luminous and blissful. And the horses that bring her, figure of the nervous forces that support and carry forward all our action, must be perfectly controlled; golden, bright in hue, their nature (for in this ancient symbolism color is the sign of quality, of character, of temperament) must be a dynamism of ideal knowledge in its concentrated luminousness; wide in its extension must be the mass of that concentrated force, -prthupajaso ye.

Divine Dawn comes thus to the soul with the light of her knowledge, prajnana, confronting all the worlds as field of that knowledge, - all provinces, that is to say, of our universal being, - mind, vitality, physical consciousness. She stands uplifted over them on our heights above mind, in the highest heaven, as the perception of Immortality or of the Immortal, amrtasya ketuh, revealing in them the eternal and beatific existence or the eternal all-blissful Godhead. So exalted she stands prepared to effect the motion of the divine knowledge, progressing as a new revelation of the eternal truth, navyasi, in their harmonised and equalized activities like a wheel moving smoothly over a level field; for they now, their diversities and discords removed, offer no obstacle to that equal motion.

In her plenitude she separates, as it were, and casts down from her the elaborately sown garment that covered the truth of things and moves as the wife of the Lover, the energy of her all-blissful Lord, svasarasya patni. Full in her enjoyment of the felicity, full in her effectuation of all activities, subhaga sudamsah, she brings into existence in us by her revelations Swar, the concealed luminous mind, our highest mental heaven; and thus from the farthest extremities of mental being extends herself over the physical consciousness.

As this divine Dawn pours out widely its light upon them, so have men by submission to the law of her divine act and movement to bring forward for her the fully energised completeness of their being and their capacities as a vehicle for her light or as a seat for her sacrificial activities.

The rişhi then dwells on the two capital works of the divine Dawn in man, - her elevation of him to the full force of the Light and the revelation of the Truth and her pouring of the Ananda, the Amrita, the Soma-wine, the bliss of the immortal being into the mental and bodily existence. In the world of the pure mind, divi, she rises into the full force and mass of the Light, urdhvam pajo asret, and from those pure and high levels she establishes the sweetness, madhu, the honey of Soma. She makes to shine out the three luminous worlds, rocana; she is then or she brings with her the beatific vision. By the effectual illuminations of the pure mentality, through the realising Word, divo arkaih, she is perceived as the bearer of Truth and with the Truth she enters from the world above Mind, full of the delight, in a varied play of her multiple thought and activity, into the mental and bodily consciousness, those established limits between which man's action moves. It is from her, as she comes thus richly laden, vajena vajini, that Agni, the divine Force labouring here in body and mind to uplift the mortal, prays for and attains to the Soma, the wine of the Beatitude, the delightful substance.

The supramental world in us, foundation of the Truth, is the foundation of the Dawns. They are the descent upon mortal nature of the light of that immortal Truth, rtam jyotih. The Lord of the Dawns, Master of Truth, Illuminer, Creator, Organiser, putting forth in the foundation of Truth, above mind, the impulsion of his activities, enters with them by this goddess into a bodily and mental existence no longer obscured but released from their limits and capable of vastness, mahi rodasi. The Lord of Truth is the sole Lord of things. He is Varuņa, soul of vastness and purity; he is Mitra, source of love and light and harmony. His creative Wisdom, mahi mitrasya varuņasya maya, unlimited in its scope, - for he is Varuņa, - appearing, candreva, as a light of bliss and joy, - for he is Mitra, - arranges, perfectly organises, in multitudinous forms, in the wideness of the libe- rated nature, the luminous expansions, the serene expressions of the Truth. He combines the various brilliancies with which his Dawn has entered our firmaments; he blends into one harmony her true and happy voices.

Dawn divine is the coming of the Godhead. She is the light of the Truth and the Felicity pouring on us from the Lord of Wisdom and Bliss, amrtasya ketuh, svasarasya patni.

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