Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s1.51

v1.c3.s1.51

The swift steeds (vājin, atya) used for the races were often washed and adorned.¹⁵ According to Pischel¹⁶ the name of one swift mare is preserved—viz., Viśpalā,¹⁷ whose broken leg was replaced by the Aśvins in a race; but the interpretation is very doubtful. Geldner¹⁸ has also found a comic picture of a horse-chariot race in the Mudgala hymn in the Rigveda, but Bloomfield¹⁹ has shown that that interpretation is unsound. Pischel²⁰ also seeks to show that races were run in honour of gods, but the evidence for the theory is inadequate.²¹