Vedic Mythology c7.s2.4

c7.s2.4

The etymological meaning, being uncertain³, cannot be said to throw any additional light on the original nature of Dadhikrā. The second part of the compound may be a by-form of the root *kṛ*, ‘to scatter’, and the word would then mean ‘scattering curdled milk’, in allusion to the dew or rime appearing at sunrise, according to Roth and Grassmann⁴, who both think that Dadhikrā represents in the form of a steed the circling ball of the sun. This view is supported by the fact that the deity with whom Dadhikrā is most closely connected is Uṣas, that the sun is often conceived as a steed or bird (p. 31) and that he is sometimes regarded as warlike (ib.). The statement that Dadhikrā was given by Mitra and Varuṇa might be connected with the notion of the sun being the eye of those deities. Bergaigne thinks that the name of Dadhikrā refers rather to lightning, but that he represents Agni in general, including his solar and lightning forms⁵. Ludwig⁶, Pischel⁷, v. Bradke⁸, and Oldenberg⁹, however, agree in the opinion that Dadhikrā was not a deity, but an actual horse, famous as a racer or charger, which received divine honours.