Eastern Mythology

India

Dyaus Pita, the Sky Father in Hinduism, was often depicted as a black horse adorned with pearls, which symbolized the stars in the heavens.

Kamthaka was the horse of Buddha who carried him though all his travels for enlightenment.

Surya was the Vedic sun god. Either a 7-headed horse or 7 horses drew his chariot. I found both references.

Tarkshya was the personification of the Sun in the form of a winged horse in early texts.

Ucchashrava was the celestial horse that was born from the swirling waters created in the search by the gods for ambrosia. He was the focus of a bet between the goddesses Kadru and Vinta. They were both admiring the stallion when Kadru asked what colour the horse was. Vinta said he was white as moonshine, while Kadru said he had a black tail. The bet was that whoever lost would become the slave of the winner. Kadru cajoled her 1000 snake sons into covering the tail of Ucchashrava to make it appear to be black. Some of her sons did not want to comply, but Kadru cursed them if they disobeyed her, so in the end they did cover the horse's tail and Kadru won the bet.

Vayu was the wind god and 1000 white or purple horses pulled his chariot.

Vivasvat, also referred to as the Solar Stallion, was married to Saranya, who gave birth to twins. In time she could no longer bear the heat of the sun and fled in the form of a mare. Vivasvat took his stallion form and pursued her. She later gave birth to the immortal twins known as the Ashvins, who were expert horsemen and were considered to be the horse gods. The Ashvins are mentioned in over 50 stories. They were often referred to as the physicians of the gods. Vivasvat may have been an alternate name for Surya.

Islam The Qur'an is full of references to the horse as it was a very important part of the nomadic tribes of the time. Allah created the horse from the wind to be a partner and warhorse for the roaming tribes. There are verses that tell how to care for a horse and that state that those that know the worth of a horse shall reside in heaven. It is said that no evil could enter the tent that held a purebred horse. There is a story regarding Mohammed and the 5 blessed mares. Mohammed was sure that the strength of the horses used by the Bedouins was very important so he devised a test. All the horses of his tribe were to be denied water for a full three days. In sympathy with the horses Mohammed would also not drink for three days. At dusk of the third day the horses were released to seek water at the river. When they were all racing toward the river Mohammed blew the war horn. Of all the horses only 5 mares turned away from the river and returned to Mohammed. These mares he blessed and they became the foundation of the 5 main breeding families of Arabians today. The families are Saklawi, Hadban, Kuheilan, Obeyan and Hamdani. Bedouins today still breed these five mare lines and the mares are always more valued than the stallions. At times there are horses born with the “thumbprint of Mohammed” on their neck, a small round depression, that is said to be a mark of favor that the prophet bestowed on the original five mares to mark them from the rest of the herd. There is also the story of the “bloody shouldered horse” A Sheikh named Ahmed had a grey mare that he valued greatly and searched for a suitable mate for her. He finally had her mated to a stallion he admired and she was safely in foal. Near the time of her foaling Ahmed was riding her in the desert. He was set upon by a group of bandits. Ahmed despaired of outrunning the bandits because of his mare's condition. But she seemed to know that she was running for her master's life and gradually drew ahead of the bandits. Angered at losing their quarry one of the bandits fired his gun and shot Ahmed in the heart. He slumped over the shoulder of his mare but she valiantly raced on and carried his body back to the tribe. Of course his blood had dried upon her shoulder during the ride, but inexplicably it would not be cleaned off. When the foal was born it too had the “bloody shoulder' mark and since then the mark is lucky among the tribes and the horse is considered to be blessed. When Mohammed ascended to heaven he rode upon Al Borak, a horse brought by Gabriel for that purpose.

Mongolia didn't have a legend as such, but there was a ritual of the white horse. A ruler could have a white horse blessed and then released, wherever the white horse stepped became the property of the ruler who owned it.

Canaanite mythology speaks of the divine twins Shaher and Shalem who were the morning and evening stars and were drawn in chariots by immortal horses.

In Japan the god Chokaro had a novel way of solving his transportation problems. He blew into a pumpkin and a horse would appear. Chokaro is always depicted holding a pumpkin with a horse peeking out of it.

China's winged horses were supposedly bred in the ancient country of Dayuan. Emperor Hanwudi mounted a successful campaign to capture these famed steeds. They were later endowed with deity to become the “Celestial Horses” of the Chinese calendar.

Written and researched by Jorge Desjardins

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