[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Reference works](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference) › [Vedic Index of Names and Subjects](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912) › v1.c3.s12.136 # Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s12.136 Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s12.136 - **Language:** English ### [v1.c3.s12.136](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s12.136) Gardabha, ‘the ass,’ is mentioned in the Rigveda¹ as inferior to the horse. In the Taittirīya Saṃhitā he again appears as inferior to the horse,² but at the same time as the best bearer of burdens (bhāra-bhāritama) among animals.³ The same authority styles the ass dvi-retas, ‘having double seed,’⁴ in allusion to his breeding with the mare as well as the she-ass. The smallness of the young of the ass, and his capacity for eating, are both referred to.⁵ The disagreeable cry of the animal is mentioned in the Atharvaveda,⁶ and in allusion to this the term ‘ass’ is applied opprobriously to a singer in the Rigveda.⁷ A hundred asses are spoken of as a gift to a singer in a Vālakhilya hymn.⁸ The mule (aśvatara) is the offspring of an ass and a mare, the latter, like the ass, being called dvi-retas,⁹ ‘receiving double seed,’ for similar reasons. The male ass is often also termed Rāsabha. The female ass, Gardabhī, is mentioned in the Atharvaveda¹⁰ and the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad.¹¹ - [Previous: v1.c3.s12.135](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s12.135) - [Next: v1.c3.s12.137](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s12.137) - [Up: v1.c3.s12](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s12) ## Linked texts (4) - [Taittirīyasaṃhitā](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.samhita.krsnayajur*taittiriya) — Sanskrit - [Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣad](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.upanisad.mukhya.brhadaranyaka) — Sanskrit - [Ṛgvedasaṃhitā](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.samhita.rg) — Sanskrit - [Atharvavedasaṃhitā](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.samhita.atharva) — Atharvan & Aṅgiras, Sanskrit --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s12.136](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s12.136) · Pramāṇa