Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

, Uchchaihshravas (, or , ), () is a seven-headed flying horse, created during the churning of the ocean. It is considered the best of

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

s, as prototype and king of the horses. Uchchaihshravas is often described as a ''

vahana ''Vāhana'' () or ''vahanam'' () denotes the being, typically an animal or mythical entity, a particular Hindus, Hindu deity is said to use as a vehicle. In this capacity, the vāhana is often called the deity's "mount". Upon the partnership b ...

'' of

Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes Indra is the m ...

, but is also recorded to be the horse of

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

, the king of the

asura Asuras () are a class of beings in Indian religions, and later Persian and Turkic mythology. They are described as power-seeking beings related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the wor ...

s. Uchchaihshravas is said to be snowy

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

in colour.

Literature

Mahabharata

The ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

'' mentions that Uchchaihshravas rose from the

Samudra Manthana The Samudra Manthana () is a major episode in Hinduism that is elaborated in the Vishnu Purana, a major text of Hinduism. The Samudra Manthana explains the origin of the elixir of eternal life, amrita. Nomenclature *Sāgara manthana (साग� ...

("churning of the milk ocean") and

—the god-king of

heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

—seized it and made it his vehicle (

). The stallion rose from the ocean along with other treasures like goddess

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...

- the goddess of fortune, who chose

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

as her consort, and the

amrita ''Amrita'' (, IAST: ''amṛta''), ''Amrit'' or ''Amata'' in Pali language, Pali, (also called ''Sudha'', ''Amiy'', ''Ami'') is a Sanskrit word that means "immortality". It is a central concept within Indian religions and is often referred to i ...

- the

elixir of life The elixir of life (Medieval Latin: ' ), also known as elixir of immortality, is a potion that supposedly grants the drinker Immortality, eternal life and/or eternal youth. This elixir was also said to Panacea (medicine), cure all diseases. Alch ...

. The legend of Uchchaihshravas, rising from the milk ocean, also appears in the ''

Vishnu Purana The Vishnu Purana () is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of ancient and medieval texts of Hinduism. It is an important Pancharatra text in the Vaishnavism literature corpus. The manuscripts of ''Vishnu Purana'' have survived into ...

'', the ''

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

'', the ''

Matsya Purana The ''Matsya Purana'' (IAST: Matsya Purāṇa) is one of the eighteen major Puranas (Mahapurana), and among the oldest and better preserved in the Puranic genre of Sanskrit literature in Hinduism. The text is a Vaishnavism text named after the h ...

'', the ''

Vayu Purana The ''Vayu Purana'' (, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. ''Vayu Purana'' is mentioned in the manuscripts of the Mahabharata and other Hindu texts, which has led scholars to propose that the text is among the ...

'' etc. While various sources list different treasures (''ratnas'') that emerged from the churning of the ocean of milk, most of them concur that Uchchaihshravas was one of them. The ''Mahabharata'' also mentions a bet between sisters and wives of

Kashyapa Kashyapa (, ) is a revered Vedic sage of Hinduism., Quote: "Kasyapa (Rudra),(Vedic Seer)..." He is one of the Saptarishis, the seven ancient sages of the ''Rigveda''. Kashyapa is the most ancient and venerated rishi, along with the other Sa ...

Vinata In Hinduism, Vinata (, ) is the mother of Aruna (Hinduism), Aruna and Garuda. She is one of the daughters of Prajapati Daksha. She is married to Kashyapa, along with several of her sisters. She bears him two sons, the elder being Aruna and the ...

and

Kadru Kadru (, ) is usually regarded as the daughter of Daksha and the consort of the sage Kashyapa in Hindu scriptures. Kashyapa is the son of Marichi, who is a manasputra, manasaputra, a mind-born son of Brahma. Kadru is best known as the mother o ...

about the colour of Uchchaihshravas's tail. While Vinata—the mother of

Garuda Garuda (; ; Vedic Sanskrit: , ) is a Hindu deity who is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. This divine creature is mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain faiths. Garuda is also the half-brother of the D ...

and Aruna—said it was white, Kadru said it was black. The loser would have to become a servant of the winner. Kadru told her Naga ("serpent") sons to cover the tail of the horse and thus make it appear as black in colour and thus, Kadru won. Kamadhenu Uchchaisravas

Uchchaihshravas is also mentioned in the ''

Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Ind ...

'' (10.27, which is part of the ''Mahabharata''), a discourse by god

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

Arjuna Arjuna (, , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �ɾd͡ʒun̪ə is one of the central characters of the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is the third of the five Pandava brothers, and is widely regarded as the most important and renowned among them. ...

. When Krishna declares himself to be the source of the universe, he declares that among horses, he is Uchchaihshravas—he who is born from the amrita.

Vishnu Purana

The ''

'' records that when

Prithu Prithu (Sanskrit: पृथु, ''Pṛthu'', lit. "large, great, important, abundant") is a sovereign ( chakravarti), featured in the Puranas. According to Hinduism, he is an avatar (incarnation) of the preserver god—Vishnu. He is also call ...

was installed as the first king on earth, others were also given kingship responsibilities. Uchchaihshravas was then made the king of horses.

Non-religious works

The twelfth-century ''Hariharacaturanga'' records once

Brahma Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...

, the creator-god, performed a sacrifice, out of which rose a winged, white horse called Uchchaihshravas. Uchchaihshravas again rose out of the cosmic Ocean of Milk and was taken by the king of the demons (

Asura Asuras () are a class of beings in Indian religions, and later Persian and Turkic mythology. They are described as power-seeking beings related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the wor ...

)

, who used it to attain many impossible things. The '' Kumarasambhava,'' by

Kalidasa Kālidāsa (, "Servant of Kali"; 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on Hindu Puranas and philosophy. His surviv ...

, narrates that Uchchaihshravas, the best of horses and symbol of Indra's glory, was stolen by the demon Tarakasura from

In popular culture

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

Dark Horse Records Dark Horse Records is a record label founded by former Beatle George Harrison in 1974. The label's formation coincided with the winding down of the Beatles' Apple Records and allowed Harrison to continue supporting other artists' projects whi ...

music label uses a logo inspired by Uchchaihshravas. * In Warhorse Studios's Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Uchchaihshravas is one of the Tier-3 horses available for purchase in the village of Merhojed.

Notes

References

*''Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend'' () by Anna Dallapiccola {{HinduMythology Legendary creatures in Hindu mythology Mythological horses Indian legendary characters Mythical many-headed creatures Horses in Hinduism Indra

Literature

Mahabharata

Vishnu Purana

Non-religious works

In popular culture

See also

Notes

References