How many white horses were there in the chariot of Arjuna in Mahabharata ? 4 or 5 ? Some pictures showing 5 and some others showing 4 ? What is the exact number? It will be great if you add some pictures/quotes ?
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There were four, looking for authentic sources to confirm – Mr. Alien Jul 02 '14 at 09:44
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No point in asking such things. This is similar to asking "What would be the exact height of Hanuman?". It doesn't make sense. VTCed. – user3459110 Jul 02 '14 at 10:14
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This question appears to be off-topic because it is a trivial information and not helpful. – Ankit Sharma Jul 02 '14 at 10:25
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1@AnkitSharma This might be trivia, but that is typically not a reason to close things on Stack Exchange sites. I have voted to leave this question open. – senshin Jul 03 '14 at 01:51
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2@AwalGarg If the scriptures at some point stated the exact height of Hanuman (or, indeed, if there was even just some good reason to expect that the scriptures stated the exact height of Hanuman), that would be a perfectly fine question. Likewise, I think this is a perfectly fine question. – senshin Jul 03 '14 at 01:51
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@senshin Exactly, *iff* the condition you define was valid, this would have been valid. – user3459110 Jul 03 '14 at 05:54
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It should be 5 if the horses represent the 5 senses. – Feb 09 '16 at 06:33
2 Answers
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As I commented, Arjuna's chariot had four white horses... Their respective names were
- Saibya
- Sugriva
- Meghapuspa
- Balahaka
Image Credits : dharmakshetra.com
As you commented, am not sure about why some of the paintings show five horses so I searched for it and I found a nice thought written by Vijay Shanker who says
May be with the purpose of conveying a symbolic message that our body being a Kurushetra battlefield where an ongoing fight between "Dharam" and Adharam" keeps on going can only be won if we keep a proper control over our Five Panchendriyas - eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin, which keeps us distracted from our right path. Krishna might be representing our "Vivek " or "consciousness" of our body controlling our Five panchendriyas represented by five horses to lead us to win over the wrongdoings and win the final battle
Mr. Alien
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You can also see a lot of pictures with 5 horses. Can you give the answer for that too? – Kiran RS Jul 02 '14 at 09:54
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4You do realize this answer (AND the question) are somewhat... erm, not of use, don't you? Next question in line would be, how tall was Hanuman actually? Doesn't make sense does it? – user3459110 Jul 02 '14 at 10:08
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@AwalGarg Ankit had a similar view over this, I didn't close voted for this question as some paintings do depict 5 horses where other depicts 4 – Mr. Alien Jul 02 '14 at 10:11
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1We know it is legitimate to put our opinion, so I will vote to close (considering that you say another user is in agreement to this). But, I thought I should first fire it here... – user3459110 Jul 02 '14 at 10:13
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3Um.. those names are the names of Krishna's horses, not Arjuna's. Reference: Amarakosha, Svargavarga. – Surya Oct 07 '15 at 16:14
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As a chariot of war, "Kapi Dhwaja" was certainly a quadriga (drawn by 4 horses). At that time, chariot of war where build for fast movement and efficiency. Therefore, it was probably build to be light in weight, which also implies 2 wheels only (instead of 4).
Having said that, we have to consider that every elements is symbolic. Some say 5 horses, because they represent our 5 senses that needs to be controlled. Some say 4 horses, because they represent our 4 basic emotions (i.e.: fear, joy, anger and sadness) that needs to be controlled.
They are controlled, by Krishna which represents "knowledge/wisdom" or "gnosis" as the "solar logos".
Stephan Sengupta
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