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Dadhichi (), also rendered Dadhyanga and Dadhyancha, is a sage in Hinduism. He is best known for his sacrifice in the Puranas, where he gives up his life so that his bones could be used to manufacture the Vajra, the diamond-like celestial thunderbolt of the deity Indra, in order to slay Vritra.
The names of Dadhichi's wife and son were Suvarcas and Pippalada, respectively. After the death of Dadhichi, when Suvarcas was about to ascend the funeral pyre, she heard an aśarīriṇī vāṇī (a celestial voice) that informed her that she was pregnant. Suvarcas removed the foetus from her womb with a stone, and placed it near a banyan tree, proceeding to end her life. Her child, Pippalada, became a famous rishi, associated with the Pippalada school of thought in Hinduism, and he is best known for being attributed with the Praśna Upanishad.
Dadhichi is also mentioned in the various hymns (Richas–Suktas) of the Rigveda.Rigveda hymns 1.80.16, 1.84.13–14, 1.116.12, 1,117,22, 1.139.9, 9.108.4
In a variation of this legend featured in the Samaveda, the devas are said to have refused to bestow the Aśvaśira mantra of the Vedas to the Ashvins. They declared that the being who would divulge this secret to the twins would have their head burst into a thousand pieces. The twin doctors of medicine sought out the sage Dadhichi, who offered to divulge this mantra. He only asked that the Ashvins replace his head with one of a horse when he reaped the consequences of the curse. After teaching them the mantra, the sage's head burst, and the twins carried out his request, and hence restored his life.
Vishnu assumed the guise of a Brahmin, and appeared before Dadhichi, requesting the sage to grant him a boon. Dadhichi saw through Vishnu's guise, and wished to know the deity's purpose of visiting him. He was requested to make peace with the king. Dadhichi refused with a laugh, which angered Vishnu. The preserver deity summoned Indra and the devas, who attacked the sage, but their prowess was rendered futile because of Shiva's protection of the sage. The sage employed a few blades of the kusha grass against the divinities, which transformed into a trishula, frightening all but Vishnu from the scene. When the king appeared to offer his surrender, the sage once again affirmed that knowledge is superior to weapons and force. He cursed Indra and all the devas to be destroyed by Shiva, which would be fulfilled when they attended Daksha yajna.
Indra and his devas waged war on Vrita and the asuras, and were defeated. The devas went to seek the aid of Vishnu. Vishnu revealed to Indra that only weapons made from the thunder-containing bones of the Rishi Dadhichi could kill Vritra.9788175256156, Harinesh Jain. . ISBN 9788175256156 Indra and the other devas therefore approached the sage, whom Indra had once slain, and asked him for his aid in defeating Vritra. Dadhichi acceded to the devas' request, but said that he wished that he had time to go on a pilgrimage to all the holy rivers before he gave up his life for them. Indra then brought all the water of the holy rivers together at Naimisharanya, thereby allowing the sage to have his wish fulfilled without a further loss of time. Dadhichi then went into a deep meditative state, and released his life force from his body. His bones were used to fashion the Vajra, also known as the Vajrayudha (Vajra, the weapon), which would be employed to slay Vritra.
Another version of this legend exists where Dadhichi was asked to safeguard the weapons of the devas, as they were unable to match the arcane arts being employed by the asuras to obtain them. Dadhichi is said to have kept at the task for a very long time and, finally tiring of the job, is said to have dissolved the weapons in sacred water, which he then drank. The devas returned some time later and asked him to return their weapons so that they might defeat the asuras, headed by Vritra, once and for all. Dadhichi, however, told them of what he had done and informed them that their weapons were now a part of his bones. Realising that his bones were the only way by which the devas could defeat the asuras, he willingly gave his life in a pit of mystical flames, that he summoned with the power of his austerities. Vishvakarma is then said to have fashioned a large number of weapons from Dadhichi's bones, including the , which was fashioned from his spine. The devas are then said to have defeated the asuras using the weapons thus created.
The Dadhich Brahmins, a Brahmin clan and the Dahiya Rajputs, a Rajput clan primarily found in Rajasthan, claim to be his descendants.
According to folklore, Dadhimati is the name of the sage's sister, in whose name a fourth century temple exists in Naguar, Rajasthan, called the Dadhimati Mata Temple.
The design of the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military decoration, is regarded to be inspired by the sacrifice of this sage.
The mantra or incantation for the goddess Hinglaj is attributed to Dadhichi. To save some Kshatriya children from being killed by Parshurama, Dadhichi is said to have hidden them inside the temple of Hinglaj, and created the incantation of Hinglaj to protect them from Parashurama's wrath.
Dadhichi is believed to have written the Narayana Kavacham, a Sanskrit hymn.
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