Dadhīci
Seers of the Veda · Ṛṣis and Ṛṣikās
The son of Atharvan who taught the Aśvins the honey of knowledge through a horse's head, and gave his own body so that a thunderbolt for Indra could be made from his bones.
Dadhīci, the son of Atharvan, is called Dadhyañc in the Veda, the oldest sacred knowledge, and Dadhīca in the Mahābhārata; all three names are his. He taught the twin gods the Aśvins the secret honey of knowledge, speaking to them through the head of a horse. When Indra, king of the gods, sent an apsaras, a woman of heaven, to tempt him, his seed fell into the river Sarasvatī, and the river bore him a son who would keep the Veda alive through a famine. And when the gods could not overcome the demon Vṛtra, they came to ask him for his body, and he, almost laughing, gave it, so that a thunderbolt could be made from his bones.