Shukra
Śukra, the Sanskrit for "brightness, clearness", is the name of the son of Bhṛgu and preceptor of the Daityas and the guru of the Asuras, identified with the planet Venus, one of the Navagrahas. He presides over Friday. He is described variously as mounted on a camel, horse or crocodile. he holds a stick, beads and a lotus and sometimes a bow and arrow.[1]
Name[edit]
Śukra is etymologically identical with Śukla "light". Śukravār is name of day of friday in most Indian languages, and Śukra Graha is Sanskrit name of the planet Venus in Indian Astrology. As a noun, it is also the name of a Marutavaata, of a son of Vasishtha, of the third Manu, of one of the saptarshi under Manu Bhautya, of a son of Bhava, of a son of Havirdhana. He was the guru of Daityas / Asuras, and so known as Śukrāchārya or Asurāchārya.[2]
Ushanas is the name of a Vedic rishi with the patronymic Kāvya,[3] who was later identified as Ushanas Śukra. He is venerated as a seer in the Bhagavad Gita where Krishna tells Arjun that among Kavis he is Ushanas.[4] Ushanas is also the name of the author of a Dharmashastra. His other names are as follows:
- Aspujit[5]
- Kavi/Kavya
- Maghabhava
- Śodasavisa[6]
- Sadasariches
- Kalantra Kalaka[7]
- Daitya-guru
- Daityaparodhas
- Daityapurohita
- Daityapujya
- Daityacharya
- Daityejya
- Daityen-drapujya
- Dhishnya
- Bhargava[8]
