In Hinduism, Uchchaihshravas ( sa, उच्चैःश्रवस्, Uccaiḥśravas or sa, उच्चैःश्रवा, Uccaiḥśravā, label=none, "long-ears" or "neighing aloud") is a seven-headed flying horse, created during the churning of the milk ocean. It is considered the best of horses, the prototype and the king of the horses. Uchchaihshravas is often described as a '' vahana'' ("vehicle") of Indra (the king of the gods), but is also recorded to be the horse of Bali, the king of the asuras (demons). Uchchaihshravas is said to be snow white in colour.

Literature

Mahabharata

The ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

'' mentions that Uchchaihshravas rose from the

Samudra Manthana The Samudra Manthana ( sa, समुद्रमन्थन; ) 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. Nom ...

("churning of the milk ocean") and Indra—the god-king of heaven—seized it and made it his vehicle ( vahana). The stallion rose from the ocean along with other treasures like goddess Lakshmi - the goddess of fortune, who chose

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

as her consort, and the amrita - the elixir of life. The legend of Uchchaihshravas, rising from the milk ocean, also appears in the '' Vishnu Purana'', the ''

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

'', the '' Matsya Purana'', the '' Vayu Purana'' etc. While various scriptures give different lists of treasures (''ratnas'') of those appeared from the churning of the ocean of milk, most of them agree that Uchchaihshravas was one of them. The ''Mahabharata'' also mentions a bet between sisters and wives of

Kashyapa Kashyapa ( sa, कश्यप}, ) 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, ...

Vinata In Hinduism, Vinata is the mother of 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 younger being Garuda. ...

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 manasaputra, a mind-born son of Brahma. Kadru is best known as the mother of the nag ...

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

Garuda Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda ...

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

Bhagavad Gita

Uchchaihshravas is also mentioned in the '' Bhagavad Gita'' (10.27, which is part of the ''Mahabharata''), a discourse by god Krishna—an avatar of Vishnu—to Arjuna. 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.

Hariharacaturanga

The twelfth-century ''Hariharacaturanga'' records once Brahma, 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) Bali, who used it to attain many impossible things.

Vishnu Purana

The '' Vishnu Purana'' 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 calle ...

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

Kumarasambhava

The '' Kumarasambhava,'' by Kalidasa, narrates that Uchchaihshravas, the best of horses and symbol of Indra's glory, was robbed by the demon Tarakasura from heaven.

In popular culture

* George Harrison's

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 whil ...

music label uses a logo inspired by Uchchaihshravas.

Notes

References

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