Dadhikrā or Dadhikrāvan was likely the racehorse or warhorse selected for the Aśvamedha of King Trasadasyu, who ruled the Rigvedic Pūru tribe. Trasadasyu had led the Pūru eastward across the

Indus The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans- Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northwest through the dis ...

river and there defeated the Anu-Druhyu and Yadu-Turvaśa tribal unions. The ritual would thus have been meant to strengthen Trasadasyu's royal legitimacy and signal the Pūru's newly preeminent position among the neighboring

Aryan ''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''), Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood ...

tribes. Dadhikrā has achieved some level of divinity in the

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋच्, ऋच्, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...

, and represents the sovereignty of the Pūru and the power of the Aśvamedha as a whole. In the fourth book of the Rigveda he is invoked in three hymns, mostly on his own. Due to his impressive swiftness, Dadhikrā is frequently called a falcon or a hawk. He is extolled as fearsome and physically powerful, and compared to a skillful warrior seeking fame. In two later hymns, Dadhikrā is praised alongside

Agni Agni ( ) is the Deva (Hinduism), Hindu god of fire. As the Guardians of the directions#Aṣṭa-Dikpāla ("Guardians of Eight Directions"), guardian deity of the southeast direction, he is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu temples. ...

, Ushas and the Asvins, whose solar imagery he shares. Jamison and Brereton remark that "Though it is not entirely clear why Dadhikrā is so strongly associated with the dawn, it may be significant that the priestly gifts are distributed at the dawn ritual and horses are among the most prized of these gifts." The etymological origin of Dadhikrā's name is not certain but it has been suggested that it is derived from ''dadhi'' meaning thickened milk and ''kri'' meaning to scatter. This scattering could be attributed to the effect of the morning sun on

dew Dew is water in the form of droplets that appears on thin, exposed objects in the morning or evening due to condensation. As the exposed surface cools by thermal radiation, radiating its heat, atmospheric moisture condenses at a rate grea ...

hoar frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is similar ...

References

{{Rigveda Rigvedic deities