‘Interestingly,’ she continues, ‘Vritra, in fact all the demons of the Rig Veda, are known by matronymics rather than patronymics. Vritra is a Dānava, son of Danu. In one passage, describing his death, the Rig Veda links the two in imagery of cow and calf: “The vital energy of Vritra’s mother ebbed away, for Indra had hurled his deadly weapon at her. Above was the mother, below was the son; Danu lay down like a cow with her calf.”’24 Who are
