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Shvan, a Sanskrit word meaning a dog, finds repeated references in Vedic and later Hindu mythologies, and such references include the following:
- The bitch of Indra, an Indo-Aryan god, is named Sarama, and it is mentioned in the Rig Veda. Its offspring became the watch dog of Yama.
- Yudhishthira, one of the Pandavas, insisted that he be allowed to enter Svarga (the Heaven) with his Shvan. When both of them entered the heaven, the dog transformed itself into Yama.
- Deities like Rudra, Nirriti and Virabhadra are associated with dogs, and an epithet describing Rudra describes him as Shvapati, meaning "master of the dog".
- Khandoba, a deity, is associated with a dog on which he rides.
- Dattatreya is associated with four dogs, considered to symbolize the four Vedas.
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