[[dawn]] | [[bovines]] *** ||| |-|-|-| Vedic | | Reddish cows are a image of the dawns Celtic | [[brigit]] | She would only drink milk of a white cow with red ears ## Dawns, Dawn Maidens & Dawn Cows - In a number of stories, the Dawn is plural. [For more on plurality see [[steets1993]] and [[dexter1994]]] This especially clear in the Rig Veda, as in 1.92.1, "the Dawns have made their bright appearance" (Panikkar, 1997). The idea might be that all of the dawns of the year (or from that point on) are referred to; Friedrich (1979, 296) suggests that this might refer to Dawn and her maidens. West (2007, 224) suggests that the 350 cows and 350 sheep of the god Helios in the Odyssey were the days and nights of the year. This comparison of dawn with cows is widespread. For instance, “[Uṣas] uncovers her breast as a cow her udder” (RV 1.92.4) (West, 2007, 224). In the myths surrounding the demonic Paṇis and Vala, both dawn and cows are among the treasures rescued by the gods (Srinivasan, 1973). In that myth, “cow” might refer to Uṣas’ rays (Srinivasan, 1973, 53). Horses are also rescued, and we have seen from earlier that cows and horse are complementary opposites in Indo- European thought. Again we see the ambiguity of Dawn. Of the two, however, in this case it is the cow that Uṣas is identified with; Dawn is described as coming as a cow, not a mare.