Mention of Dadhichi can be traced to different ancient religious sources, including the Rig Veda, Bhagavata Puran, Shiva Puran, etc. There is a community of Dahima or Dadhich Brahmins in Rajasthan who claim to have been descended from Dadhichi, and their deity is Devi Dadhimati, who was the sister of Dadhichi.
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Dadhichi, or Dadhyancha, was a wise and resourceful sage of ancient times. His name is mentioned in the Rig Veda with veneration. His father was Rishi Atharvan, and his mother was Chiti (daughter of a great sage, Rishi Kardam). Pippalada, son of Dadhichi, was another great sage and the originator of the Prashna Upanishad.
Dadhichi was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. His ashram (a place for meditation, worship, and theological learning) was at Misrikh in Naimisharanya (now in Uttar Pradesh, India). [According to some other sources, it was Dudheshwara, on the bank of the Sabarmati river.]
Dadhichi had the ancient vedic knowledge of Madhuvidya (one of the thirty-two Brahma-Vidyas) and was proficient in related vedic rites. Madhuvidya is described in the Chandogya Upanishad and the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. In the Vedic age, soma (ambrosia or the divine nectar) was also known as madhu (honey). Knowledge of Soma or Madhuvidya could give health and immortality to anyone. Devraj Indra was jealous of Dadhichi, as in spite of being a mortal rishi, Dadhichi had such power that it was comparable to the gods alone. Hence, Indra vowed that he would cut off the head of Dadhichi if he dared to teach anyone the secret knowledge of Madhuvidya.
As the Aswini Kumars (the physicians of the gods) were eager to learn Madhuvidya, they devised a plan to deceive Indra. They cut the head of Dadhichi and replaced it with a horse head. They learnt the secret knowledge from the horse-headed rishi. When an enraged Indra severed the Dadhichi's horse-head, the Aswini Kumars placed the original head in his body and brought Dadhichi back to life with Madhuvidya. Thus, Dadhichi is also known as Ashvashira, or one with a horse head.
In mythology, Dadhichi muni is more famous for his act of selflessness than for his knowledge and wisdom. Hindu mythological texts describe an eternal struggle between asuras and devas. In general, the asuras were more powerful than the devas. In spite of being defeated by the asuras, every time the devas used to find some way to regain their position.
Once, a severe battle took place between the devas and the asuras. After some initial setbacks, the devas ultimately became victorious. Asuras fled to the patal lok (underground). The devas were still tense as they had come to know that the asuras were planning to steal them to make the devas weak before the next invasion in Devlok. Hence, the devas decided to hide the weapons in some safe place under the protection of some trustworthy and powerful guardian. They thought of Rishi Dadhachi and asked him to hide the weapons in his ashram.
Although Dadhichi muni was not very eager to take the responsibility on his shoulders, he could not deny the request from the gods themselves. The gods left the entire arsenal at his disposal.
Many years passed, but the gods did not return to take the weapons back. On the other hand, Dadhichi muni lost his peace of mind. He was always anxious regarding the safety of the divine weapons. One day, he noticed that some of the divine weapons were losing their energy due to un-use for a long time. He thought that the gods would never return. So, he decided to destroy the divine weapons himself. He cleansed all the weapons with sacred water to transfer the energy. When the entire energy of the divine weapons dissolved, he simply consumed the sacred water.
After a few years, the asuras attacked Swarga Rajya under their leader Vritrasura. He was very powerful and was immune to the normal weapons. To fight him, the gods needed divine and enchanted weapons. Hence, the gods returned to Dadhichi to take back their weapons. Dadhichi muni was taken aback by the sudden appearance of the gods in his ashram. He told the gods that he had consumed the weapons and that the divine power was now stored inside his bones. Devraj Indra and the other gods were all frightened, as without divine weapons they were sure to fail in the impending battle.
Then Dadhichi told Lord Indra to kill him and take his bones to forge the divine weapons once again. But the devas refused to murder the muni as it was an unforgivable sin. So, Dadhichi himself left his life through yoga. He sacrificed his own life to save the gods.
Lord Indra then called for Kamdhenu (the divine cow). Kamdhenu licked Dadhichi to remove skin and flesh from his mortal remains. Lord Viswakarm (the engineer of gods) forged a very powerful weapon, Vajrayudha (thunder bolt), from the spine of Dadhichi. He also developed many other weapons from the other bones, including Saranga, Pinak, Gandib, etc.
Indra killed Vritra with the Vajra and saved himself and the gods from the asuras. Dadhichi became the symbol of selflessness, bravery, and sacrifice for his contribution.
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