Sarama

In Hindu mythology, Sarama is a mythological dog being referred to as the female dog of the gods, or Deva-shuni (देव-शुनी, ). She first appears in one of Hinduism's earliest texts, the Rig Veda, in which she helps the king of the gods Indra to recover divine cows stolen by the Panis asuras. This legend is alluded to in many later texts, and Sarama is often associated with Indra. The epic Mahabharata, and some Puranas, also make brief reference to Sarama. Early Rig-Vedic works do not depict Sarama as a dog, but later Vedic mythologies and interpretations usually do. She is described as the mother of all dogs, in particular of the two four-eyed brindle dogs of the god Yama, and dogs are given the matronymic Sarameya ("offspring of Sarama"). One scripture further describes Sarama as the mother of all wild animals. Etymology and epithets Orientalist Max Müller suggests that the word Sarama may mean "the runner", with the stem originating from the Sanskrit root sar ("to go"), but he is unable to account for the second part of the name, ama. Professor Monier-Williams translates Sarama as "the fleet one". The etymological treatise Nirukta by Yaska mentions that Sarama derives her name from her quick movement. Mahidhara, a commentator of the Vajasaneyi Samhita, states that Sarama is "she who entertains (remante) the gods". More broadly, Sarama has also come to mean any female dog. There are two epithets for Sarama in the original Rig Veda. Firstly, she is described as supadi, which means "having good feet", "fair-footed" or "quick", an epithet only used for Sarama in the text. Her other epithet is subhaga – "the fortunate one", or "the beloved one" – a common epithet of the Ushas, the Dawn. Sarama's other name Deva-shuni means "divine bitch" or "bitch of the gods".