The procession of the matutinal gods, which we have followed so far under the guidance of our old grammarian, Yâska, can be shown to rest on even earlier authority. Thus we read in one of the hymns themselves, Rig-Veda I, 157, 1:—
Agni awoke, from earth arises Sûrya,
Ushas, the great and bright, throws heaven open,
The pair of Asvins yoked their car to travel,
God Savitri has roused the world to labour.
There are other hymns, of course, that refer to the light of day or to the sun in his later stages also, culminating as Vishnu, or setting with Trita, till at last Râtrî, night, appears, and Varuna, the coverer, reigns once more supreme in heaven. When we see Varuna together with Mitra, the sun-god, they represent a divine couple, dividing between them the sovereignty of the whole world, heaven and earth, very much like the Asvins. They are not so much in opposition to each other, as partners in a common work.
Just as the night, the sister of the Dawn, is sometimes conceived as a dawn or day (Ahan) herself, Mitra and Varuna also seem often to be charged with the same duties. They hold heaven and earth asunder, they support heaven and earth and are the common guardians of the whole world. Varuna as well as Mitra is represented as sun-eyed. Still the contrast between the two becomes gradually more and more pointed, and we can clearly see that, while light and day become the portion of Mitra, night and darkness fall more and more to the share of Varuna. The sun is said to rise from the abode of Mitra and Varuna, but night, moon, and stars are mentioned in the hymns already, as more closely related to Varuna. Thus we read, Rig-Veda I, 27, 10:—
The stars fixed high in heaven and shining brightly
By night, Oh say, where have they gone by daytime?
The laws of Varuna are everlasting,