Sanskrit can be seen as the source of the numerical system, it can be seen as the source of the months of the year, it can be seen as the source of many of the colours of the rainbow and as we shall see it can also be seen as the source of the cardinal directions.

 

Ancients saw the 'east' as auspicious, hence temples were built facing the east, sacrificial rites were performed facing the east and marriages were performed facing the east and the reason for such auspiciousness is the appearance of Surya, the god of the Sun whose name means one who embarks upon a voyage ( ya ) of splendour ( sur ).

 

Surya embarks upon his journey accompanied by 'Usas' the goddess of the dawn and a name which departs Vedic shores and appears throughout the lands of Europe as 'aus' whose meaning is the 'dawn' which becomes 'austr' a word from the language of the Norse meaning 'from the east' which eventually becomes the word 'east'.

 

 

'Usas' is the source of the name of 'Austria' which was originally known as 'Osterreich' its meaning being the kingdom ( reich ) of the east ( oster ) and the 'reich' is from 'reg' a word from the indo/european language whose meaning is to 'rule' and this is from 'raj' a word from the language of Sanskrit which means to 'rule'.

 

'Usas' is the source of the name of 'Australia' as it goes from 'usas' meaning that which rises in the east to 'aus' whose meaning is the 'east' to 'ausus' whose meaning is 'dawn' to 'auster' and 'australis' words from Latin whose meanings are 'southern' and 'southern winds' to 'Australia' whose name is said to reflect the hot southern winds.

 

'Usas' whose meaning is the goddess of the dawn can also be seen within 'easter' an ancient spring festival which celebrates renewal, replenishment and rebirth, its original meaning is expressed as the dawn goddess of the spring equinox which heralds the rebirth of the solar year.

 

 

'Surya' the god of the Sun is formed from 'Su' a root from the language of Sanskrit whose meaning is 'good' and this becomes 'sur' whose meaning is the arrival ( r ) of the good ( su ) as in that which 'shines' that which 'rules' and that which possesses 'supreme power'.

 

'Sur' whose meaning is to 'shine' can be seen throughout foreign lands where the 'R' becomes an 'L' and we get the word 'sol' whose meaning is the 'Sun' and also 'solar' whose meaning is that which 'comes from the Sun' and we also get 'sunshine' 'sunlight' 'sunday' and 'solstice'.

 

'Sur' whose meaning is to 'shine' is seen within the Old French and Old Spanish 'sur' whose meaning is 'Sun' and this produces variations such as 'sud' and 'suth' which is just one step away from the word 'south' whose journey began upon the shores of Vedic India as 'sur' meaning the arrival ( r ) of the good ( su ) as in that which 'shines' and 'Surya' the god of the Sun whose meaning is he who embarks upon a voyage ( ya ) of splendour ( sur ).

 

 

And so we have 'east' whose origin is Usas the Vedic goddess of the dawn and we have 'south' whose origin is Surya the Vedic god of the Sun and we find that 'west' has its origins within 'vas' a word from the language of Sanskrit whose meaning is that which is 'light' that which 'shines' that which 'illuminates' and this becomes 'vastu' whose meaning is 'light' and also the elemental 'Vasus' who are the gods of fire and light.

 

'Vas' whose meaning is 'light' can be seen throughout the languages of Europe as 'vast' a word from the language of Old Swedish meaning 'west' its seen as 'wast' a word from the language of Old Scottish meaning 'west' its seen as 'waaste' a word from the Frisian language meaning 'west' and it then becomes 'vest' meaning 'west' as seen within the languages of the Norse, the Danish, the Icelandic, the Norwegian and eventually we get the word 'west'.

 

An insight into how 'vas' develops into the word 'west' can be seen as 'vas' whose meaning is 'light' is seen within 'vesper' a word from the language of Latin which describes the evening star and whose meaning is the light ( vas ) which goes beyond ( per ) a description of the setting Sun which rises in the east and sets in the west hence vesper means both 'evening' and 'west' in relation to the setting Sun.

 

'Vas' whose meaning is 'light' can be seen within 'Visigoth' one of the two branches of the German race of people known as the 'Goths' its meaning being the western ( visi ) goths and the second branch known as the 'Ostrogoths' is also related to Sanskrit as it possesses 'ostro' whose meaning is 'east' whose source is 'Usas' meaning 'east' the name of 'Ostrogoth' meaning the eastern ( ostro ) goths.

 

'Vas' whose meaning is 'light' which becomes 'vesper' which is known as the 'evening star' also becomes 'Vesta' who is the Roman goddess of hearth and home as in the sacred fire and we also have 'Vesuvius' the volcanic mountain of Italy who is named after 'Vesu' the Roman name for the good and bright gods.

 

And so we have 'Usas' the Vedic goddess of the dawn from which comes the direction of the 'east' we have 'Surya' the Vedic god of the Sun from which comes the direction of the 'south' and we have 'vas' meaning 'light' and 'vasu' the Vedic gods of light from which comes the direction of the 'west'.

 

 

As the east was seen as auspicious the ancients saw the North as inauspicious, a place which was described as a cold, hellish, underworld, and this is reflected within its name which is said to come from 'ner' a root from the indo/euro language whose meaning is 'below' as in 'below the sun' as in 'below the south' and also 'left' as when facing the east the north is on your left.

 

'Ner' whose meaning is 'below' and 'left' seems to be very much related to 'naraka' a word from the language of Sanskrit whose meaning is 'hell' and that which lies 'below' the earthly regions, and we already have one Indo/euro 'ner' meaning 'man' whose source is 'nara' a word from Sanskrit meaning 'man' and this second 'ner' which produces 'north' seems to possess the same source.

 

Ancients saw the directions in relation to the east hence its root 'ner' as well as meaning 'below' also means 'left' as when facing east the north is on your left and this is seen within the ancient Vedic culture of India where the name for 'east' is 'purva' which also means 'before' 'in front' 'prior' their name for 'north' is 'uttara' which also means 'left' as when facing east, the north is on your left and their name for 'south' is 'dakshina' which also means 'right' as when facing east the south is on your right and their name for 'west' is 'pascima' which also means 'behind' as when facing the east the west is behind you an example of how the directions were all seen in relation to the auspicious east.

 

 

'Much is gained if we can find in the Vedic poetry words and ideas which throws light on the names of the Greek and Roman deities. There is no goddess 'Vesta' or 'Hestia' in Vedic literature, but the Sanskrit root 'vas' is recognised by everyone, though on phonetic grounds alone it is impossible to determine whether it was derived from the root 'vas' which means 'to shine' or the root 'vas' which means 'to dwell'. Max Muller.

 

"Vedic usás is derived from the word usá which means 'dawn' a word which comes from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hušas ('uša' in Avestan) which in turn is from Proto-Indo-European *h,éusos ( dawn ), and is related to 'héos' in Greek and 'aušrà' in Lithuanian. It is also the basis for the word 'east' in Indo-European traditions, state Mallory and Adams. Wikipedia.

 

'Sol, solis from ( su + r ) the arrival ( r ) of good ( su ) in Sanskrit sur/svar or also from ( sur + ya ), in Sanskrit, Surya, 'voyage ( ya ) of splendour ( sur/sva )' or 'Sun' Comparative etymology  -  Sanskrit, Latin and Greek  -  Franco Rendich.

 

"The Indo - European relationship between 'light' as 'divine good' and 'fire' as 'earthly good' is deduced from the adjective 'vasu' which means 'good' 'benevolent' or 'rich' in Sanskrit, and from the noun Vasu which represents a class of Vedic divinities connected to light and fire, dispensers of spiritual and material goods.' Comparative etymology  -  Sanskrit, Latin and Greek  -  Franco Rendich.