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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
'''Dadhikrā''' or '''Dadhikrāvan''' was likely the racehorse or warhorse selected for the [[Ashvamedha|Aśvamedha]] of King Trasadasyu, who ruled the Rigvedic [[Pūru tribe]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Brereton & Jamison |title=The Rigveda: A Guide |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2020 |pages=60}}</ref> Trasadasyu had led the Pūru eastward across the [[Indus River|Indus]] river and there defeated the Anu-Druhyu and Yadu-Turvaśa tribal unions. The ritual would thus have been meant to strengthen Trasadasyu's royal legitimacy and signal the Pūru's newly preeminent position among the neighboring [[Aryan]] tribes.{{fact|date=November 2022}}
Dadhikrā has achieved some level of divinity in the [[Rigveda]], and represents the sovereignty of the Pūru and the power of the Aśvamedha as a whole. In the fourth book of the Rigveda he is invoked in three hymns, mostly on his own. Due to his impressive swiftness, Dadhikrā is frequently called a falcon or a hawk. He is extolled as fearsome and physically powerful, and compared to a skillful warrior seeking fame.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |title=Rigveda |pages=hymns RV 4.38–40, RV 7.44, RV 3.20, RV 10.101}}</ref> In two later hymns, Dadhikrā is praised alongside [[Agni]], [[Ushas]] and the [[Asvins]], whose solar imagery he shares. Jamison and Brereton remark that "Though it is not entirely clear why Dadhikrā is so strongly associated with the dawn, it may be significant that the priestly gifts are distributed at the dawn ritual and horses are among the most prized of these gifts."<ref name=":1" />
The etymological origin of Dadhikrā's name is not certain but it has been suggested that it is derived from ''dadhi'' meaning thickened milk and ''kri'' meaning to scatter. This scattering could be attributed to the effect of the morning sun on [[dew]] or [[hoar frost]].<ref>{{cite book | title=Vedic Mythology | publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ. | author=Macdonell, Arthur Anthony | year=1898 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/vedicmythology00macd/page/148 148] | isbn=9788120811133 | url=https://archive.org/details/vedicmythology00macd/page/148 | url-access=registration }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title=The Golden Book of Rigveda | publisher=Lotus Press | author=Kulasrestha, Mahendra | year=2006 | pages=99 | isbn=9788183820103}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Rigveda}}
[[Category:Rigvedic deities]]