Ashva (Sanskrit:अश्व,IAST:Aśva) is theSanskrit word for ahorse, one of the significant animals finding references in theVedas as well as laterHindu scriptures. The word is cognate toAvestan𐬀𐬯𐬞𐬀 (aspa),Latinequus,Ancient Greekἵππος (hippos),Proto-Germanic *ehwaz, obsoletePrussianLithuanianašvà (fromProto-Balto-Slavic*éśwāˀ), all fromProto-Indo-European*h₁éḱwos.
There are repeated references to the horse theVedas (c. 1500 - 500 BC). In particular, theRigveda has many equestrian scenes, often associated withchariots.[1][2]
TheAshvins aredivine twins named for their horsemanship. Although the usual assumption has been that theIndo-Aryan migration relied heavily on riders, who may have introduced the domesticated horse to the subcontinent, there are few clear references to actual horse riding in their earliest text, theRigveda, most clearly inRV 5.61.2-3, describing theMaruts as riders:
According toRV 7.18.19,Dasyu tribes (the Ajas, Shigrus and Yakshus) also had horses. McDonnell and Keith point out that the Rigveda does not describe people riding horses in battle.[3] This is in accord with the usual dating of the Rigveda to the late Bronze Age, when horses played a role as means of transport primarily as draught animals (while the introduction ofcavalry dates to the earlyIron Age, possibly anIranian (specificallyParthian) innovation of around the 9th century BC).
RV 1.163.2 mythologically alludes to the introduction of the horse and horseriding:
InRV 1.162.18, thesacrificial horse is described as having 34 (2x17) ribs:
TheAshvamedha or horse sacrifice is a notable ritual of theYajurveda.
One of the famous avatars ofVishnu, Hayagriva, is depicted with a horse head.Hayagriva is worshipped as the God for Knowledge.
The legend of Uchchaihshravas states that the first horse emerged from the depth of the ocean during thechurning of the oceans. It was a horse with white color and had two wings. It was known by the name ofUchchaihshravas. The legend continues thatIndra, one of the gods of theHindus, took away themythical horse to his celestial abode, thesvarga (heaven). Subsequently, Indra severed the wings of the horse and presented the same to the mankind. The wings were severed to ensure the horse remains on the earth (prithvi) and does not fly back to Indra's suvarga.
According to Aurobindo (Secret of the Veda, pp. 44),Asva may not always denote the horse. Aurobindo argued the wordsasva andasvavati symbolize energy.[4]Asva orRatha was also interpreted to be sometimes the "psycho-physical complex on which the Atman stands or in which it is seated".[5] In another symbolic interpretation based on RV 1.164.2 and Nirukta 4.4.27,asva may also sometimes symbolize the sun.[6]
