A. The Uchchaishravas is mentioned many, many times throughout various forms of folklore, including the Bhagavad Gita, Kumarasambhava, and the Devi Bhagavata Purana. The white coat of these horses is their most recognizable physical attribute, marred once the time two goddesses made a bet over the color (white or black) of the tail, and to win one used tiny snakes to cover it and render it temporarily black, forcing the apparent loser to become her handmaiden. I believe this tale could be retold in many different ways. The Uchchaishravas was also born out of a sea of milk, which is a setting/scenario which could be expanded upon in a story.
In the Devi Bhagavata Purana, Lakshmi is struck by how beautiful the Uchchaishravas is when she sees her brother arrive astride it. Because of her lack of focus she misses a question from Vishnu, who in retaliation cursed her to be a mare in her next life.
With some digging, I came across this stanza in the Kalidasa:
"The war-horse, though unguided, stopped
The moment that his rider dropped,
And wept above the lifeless head,
Still faithful to his master dead."
I don't think this is about the Uchchaishravas but I thought it really spoke to how valued and symbolic horses are on the battlefield as well as at home. It's something I'd like to either write about or include in a story.
B. Hayagriva is Lord Vishnu's horse-headed form. There are so many stories and they're so reverent towards this particular avatar. In one story, Hayagriva dismembers two Veda-stealing villains (Madhu-Kaitabha) into twelve pieces which become the planet's tectonic plates. This is excellent material and I would like to write about it.
This horse character- out of all of the mythology I've touched on thus far- is more wrathful and ferocious than the others, even in more Buddhist mythology:
"Hayagriva, the Wrathful Heruka, is the "Incredible Hulk" emanation...he is chief among the wrathful emanations, representing dharma and speech in its ferocious form- signified by the screaming neighing horse head bursting out of his fiery hair." Link
C. More digging will be required to get some more information on Kalki, but I am interested in writing about him, though he is only mentioned once in the Mahabarata, the Garuda Purana's description of him as ending the chaos of the Kali Yuga by wielding a rider with a fiery sword sounds like a heck of a story. He's also a feared warrior and can re-start time. This is a super-powered stallion.
The Farasi Bahari interest me- they're green and almost hippocampus-esque, living in the setting of the sea rather than on land.
Idea 1: An original story combining the experiences and abilities of the mythological horses into one giant race. The winner becomes the mount of Vishnu. This story could be told in multiple chapters: A. The horses are found and recruited to be in the race, and have to escape/take leave of their current situation. In many cases, the horses are either a form or have since changed form from a deity, and some will thus have to undergo some change to be in the proper shape for the race.
B. The selection of the jockeys, the horse's thoughts on the jockeys, and a walk down memory lane as they rest in the stables the night before the big event.
C. Lining up in the starting blocks and sharing tales of other meetings and endeavors throughout mythology. Some stories are told in an attempt to brag and psych the opponents out, but some are genuinely reflective, a summation of the path which led to this moment and this race.
D. The actual race. Which horses come out on top or start fast/slow and whatnot depend on story content and on how well I think they'd all stack up. Is there any foul play at hand? The gods/goddesses may want to rig the race for themselves or to save their bets in event of an underdog.
Idea 2: (Inspired by the River goddess Ganga project): You're vacationing in India and come across a small stable across the street from your hotel. Having taken lessons as a kid you venture in and ask if you can help out in exchange for a ride. While you spend time there you find yourself meeting many horses, and they tell you their stories of time spent in the company of gods and nobles long ago. The Uchchashraivaa takes you for a ride around the countryside, like a trip back in time, and shares what it was like from a horse's-eye perspective in the old days of myth and legend.
Bibliography:
Sushmajee. Horses in Hindu Mythology. http://www.sushmajee.com/stories/topics/horse.htm
Uchchaishravas. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uchchaihshravas
Khalidasa:Shakuntala. The Birth of the War God. http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sha/sha16.htm
Devi Bhagavata Purana. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devi-Bhagavata_Purana
Hayagriva. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devi-Bhagavata_Purana
Dr. D. Sridhara Babu. Hayagriva. https://archive.org/stream/hayagriva014842mbp#page/n3/mode/2up
Kalki. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalki
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| Image Info: Art depicting Soorya, a sun god with a chariot pulled by seven horses: one for each of the seven colored rays. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surya |
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