Mahabharata The
Mahabharata mentions that Uchchaihshravas rose from the
Samudra Manthana ("churning of
the milk ocean") and
Indra—the god-king of
heaven—seized it and made it his vehicle (
vahana). The stallion rose from the ocean along with other treasures like goddess
Lakshmi - the goddess of fortune, who chose
Vishnu as her consort, and the
amrita - the
elixir of life. The legend of Uchchaihshravas, rising from the milk ocean, also appears in the
Vishnu Purana, the
Ramayana, the
Matsya Purana, the
Vayu Purana etc. While various sources list different treasures (
ratnas) that emerged from the churning of the ocean of milk, most of them concur that Uchchaihshravas was one of them. The
Mahabharata also mentions a bet between sisters and wives of
Kashyapa -
Vinata and
Kadru about the colour of Uchchaihshravas's tail. While Vinata—the mother of
Garuda and
Aruna—said it was white, Kadru said it was black. The loser would have to become a servant of the winner. Kadru told her
Naga ("serpent") sons to cover the tail of the horse and thus make it appear as black in colour and thus, Kadru won.
Vishnu Purana The
Vishnu Purana records that when
Prithu was installed as the first king on earth, others were also given kingship responsibilities. Uchchaihshravas was then made the king of horses.
Non-religious works The twelfth-century
Hariharacaturanga records once
Brahma, the creator-god, performed a sacrifice, out of which rose a winged, white horse called Uchchaihshravas. Uchchaihshravas again rose out of the cosmic Ocean of Milk and was taken by the king of the demons (
Asura)
Bali, who used it to attain many impossible things. The
Kumarasambhava, by
Kalidasa, narrates that Uchchaihshravas, the best of horses and symbol of Indra's glory, was stolen by the demon
Tarakasura from
heaven. ==In popular culture==