Product Description
The horse is not indigenous to India, except in a few, small pockets. Even afterit was brought to the Subcontinent sometime between 2000 BCE and 1500BCE, most probably by the people formerly known as the Indo-Europeans,it played almost no part in the lives of ordinary Indian villagers, being tooexpensive for all but the most privileged people to own. And yet, Indiasfolklore, epics and popular culture are full of wonderful horse stories andbrilliant visual images of the animal. In this fascinating book, Wendy Doniger, who has been called the greatestliving mythologist, examines the horses significance throughout Indianhistory, from the arrival of the Indo-Europeans, followed by the Greeks, theTurks and Mongols (who imported Arabian horses) and the British (whoimported Thoroughbreds and Walers). Along the way, we encounter elaboraterituals of horse sacrifice in the Vedic age; stories of warring horses and snakesin theMahabharata; tensions between Hindu stallion and Arab mare traditions;the imposition of European standards on Indian breeds; the reasons why manyIndian men ride mares to weddings; the motivations for murdering Dalitswho ride horses; and the enduring myth of foreign horses who emerge from the ocean to fertilize native mares.
As passionate about horses as she is about Indian mythology, Wendy Donigercombines scholarship with storytelling as only she can, to give us a compellingbook on the horse in Indian culture.