The Advaitist

Root: RRi becomes Stem: ra RRi -> ra + tha = goer, car, vehicle a. Made of native timber khadira, siMShapA - 3.53.19 shalmali - 10.85.20 kiMShuka b. Drawn mostly by oxen, sometimes by horses, antelopes and birds (ashvins)

The Rig Vedic "ratha" translated often as "vehicle" or "chariot" is not the same as the European horse-drawn chariot. It is variously described as: pRRithu - "broad" (1.123.1) bRRihat - "tall, big" (6.61.13) variShTha...vandhura - "widest...box/seating space" (6.47.9) trivandhura - "three seated" (1.41.2; 7.71.4; etc) aShTavandhura - "eight seated" (10.53.7) The only real-life, not mythological, ratha in a race is mentioned in 10.102 and this is pulled by oxen. The Rig Veda does not make a single mention of a real-life battle with horse-drawn rathas. Source: Nicholas Kazanas