Wendy Doniger's 'Winged Stallions and Wicked Mares', a compendium of truths and myths about horses

Aradhika Sharma

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THIS compendium of truths and myths about horses has been carefully collected and curated by the prolific Wendy Doniger, known as “the greatest living mythologist”. This book, in fact, is a result of the two great loves of Doniger’s life — horses and Indian mythology.

Her involvement with horses began with a chance meeting with the noted equestrienne, Penelope Chetwode Betjeman (the daughter of Field Marshal Sir Philip Chetwode, who became chief of the general staff, India, in 1928, and was commander-in-chief, India, between 1930-35), on a flight from Calcutta to Kathmandu. A few years later, Chetwode put her astride her Arabian horse in England and taught her to ride.

Doniger says there is limited evidence of the horse being native to India. Indeed, there is limited evidence of their existence from the Bronze Age, Harappan or Indus Valley civilisations. Yet, horses have been a part of Indian culture for centuries. Several important ancient customs revolved around these animals and Indian folklore and history are replete with horse narratives and its representations in art.

Doniger has touched upon the subject of the legends surrounding horses in India in her earlier books too. We come across the myth of Saranyu, the Vedic mare goddess, in ‘Siva: The Erotic Ascetic’ (1973), and ‘The Rig Veda: An Anthology’ (1981). Saranyu (meaning nimble) married Vivasvan, the Sun god, but weary of his scorching brilliance, she created a clone of herself, Chhaya. She then disguised herself as a mare and fled into the forests. Chhaya was so realistic that Vivasvan did not realise the deception and even fathered Manu with her before the truth dawned on him. Thereafter, he turned himself into a stallion and impregnated Saranyu.

The book is abundant with such fascinating Vedic myths and historical perspectives on horses. While exploring the latter, Doniger reveals that horses were first domesticated about 5,500 years ago in parts of Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan. They had to be imported to India by the rulers to defend their kingdoms against their warring neighbours in Afghanistan and Iran — from the Kushans (of the Yuezhi tribe) to Nader Shah of Persia. Until then, these militaries had been able to easily overcome the Indian armies with horses, lending them an edge. The Indian rulers had to import horses to strengthen their armies. These animals were thus afforded only by the nobility and it was not until the Europeans came to India that they became accessible to ordinary people.

The author probes historical sources, including the works of Marco Polo, Lockwood Kipling and Yashaswini Chandra. Beginning from the myths around the divine genesis of horses, she goes on to explore the centrality of horses to polities, economies and aristocracy in ancient and medieval and pre-industrialisation eras. The book is a result of her unique ability of juxtaposing the mythic with the factual.