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History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c53.s1: Aśvamedha (Horse-sacrifice)

History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c53.s1

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Aśvamedha (Horse-sacrifice)

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This is one of the most ancient sacrifices. Ṛg. I. 162 and 163 show that the horse-sacrifice was in vogue long before the composition of those two hymns. It was believed, as said above (on p. 982), by the composer of those hymns that the horse when sacrificed went to heaven. A goat was led in front of the horse (Ṛg. I. 162. 2-3 and I. 163. 12). The horse was decked with ornaments, it was anointed with the svaru (I. 162. 9) and it perambulated fire thrice or fire was carried round it thrice (I. 162. 4); cloth and a piece of gold are provided for the dead body of the horse to lie down upon (I. 162. 16). Horse's flesh was cooked in a pot called ukhā (I. 162. 13) and offered in fire (I. 162. 19); 34 ribs are mentioned in Ṛg. I. 162. 18, while 26 ribs are mentioned in other texts with reference to the goat. It appears that āgūḥ, yājyā and vaṣaṭkāra were uttered in making offerings of the horse's flesh (Ṛg. I. 162. 15). The horse is identified with Āditya, Trita and Yama (Ṛg. I. 163. 3).

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This rite is described in the Śat. Br. XIII. 1-5, Tai. Br. III. 8-9, in which several ancient monarchs are enumerated who performed the Aśvamedha. The Tai. Br. III. 8. 9 identifies the Aśvamedha with the kingdom²⁶⁶⁶ and states 'he, who being weak, offers an Aśvamedha, is indeed thrown away (lit. spilt away). If the enemies (of the king) were to secure the horse, the sacrifice would be destroyed'. The sūtras closely follow the Brāhmaṇas. The Aśvamedha is deemed in the sūtras to be an *ahīna* of three pressing days (Āśv. X. 8. 1, com. on Kāt. XX. 1. 1., Śāṅ. XVI. 1. 2). A paramount sovereign (*sārvabhauma*) or a crowned king who is not a sārvabhauma may perform this sacrifice (Āp. XX. 1. 1, Lāṭ. IX. 10. 17). Āśv. X. 6. 1 states (probably following the Ait. Br. about the Mahābhiṣeka in Rājasūya) that one who desires to secure all objects, to win all victories (including one over his own senses) and to attain all prosperity may perform Aśvamedha.²⁶⁶⁷ A beginning is made on the 8th or 9th of the bright half of Phālguna or on the same days of Jyeṣṭha or Aṣāḍha according to some (Kāt. XX. 1. 2-3, Lāṭ. IX. 9. 6-7). Āp. holds that it should be begun on the Full Moon of Caitra (XX. 1. 4). Rice from four vessels, four *añjalis* and four handfuls is cooked (it is called *brahmaudana*); it is smeared with ghee and given to the four principal priests who are also given one thousand cows each and gold weighing one hundred berries (Kāt. XX. 1. 4-6, Lāṭ. IX. 9. 8). Two *iṣṭis* are performed, the first for Agni Mūrdhanvan and the 2nd for Pūṣan (Āśv. X. 6. 2-5, Kāt. XX. 1. 25). The yajamāna cuts off his hair, pares his nails, brushes the teeth, bathes, puts on new garments, wears a golden ornament (*niṣka*), observes silence. Vide Tai. Br. III. 8. 1 and Āp. XX. 4. 9-14 for these. His four queens well-decked and wearing niṣkas come near the king, the crowned queen accompanied by princesses, the 2nd queen (*vāvāta*, the favourite one) accompanied by daughters of kṣatriyas, the third (*parivṛkti*, the discarded one) accompanied by daughters of sūtas and village headmen and the fourth (*pālāgalī*, of low origin) accompanied by daughters of kṣattṛs (chamberlains) and saṁgrahītṛs.²⁶⁶⁸ The yajamāna enters the fire-hall and sits to the west of the gārhapatya facing the north.

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²⁶⁶⁶ राष्ट्रं वा अश्वमेधः। ... ... परा वा एष सिच्यते योऽबलोऽश्वमेधेन यजते। यद्समित्रा अश्वं विन्द्रेरन् हण्येतास्य यज्ञः। तै. ब्रा. III. 8. 9. The Ait Br. does not describe the Aśvamedha, but the Mahābhiṣeka (called Aindra) of the Rājasūya.

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²⁶⁶⁷ सर्वान् कामानाप्त्यन् सर्वा विजितीर्विजिगीषमाणः सर्वा व्युष्टीर्व्यश्नुवानोऽश्वमेधेन यजेत। आश्वं. X. 6. 1; स य इच्छेदेवंवित् क्षत्रियमयं सर्वा जितीर्जयेतायं सर्वांल्लोकानभिसंभवेतायं सर्वेषां राज्ञां श्रैष्ठ्यमतिष्ठां परमतां गच्छेत साम्राज्यं भौज्यं स्वाराज्यं पारमेष्ठ्यं राज्यं माहाराज्यमाधिपत्यमयं समन्तपर्यायी स्यात्सार्वभौमः सार्वायुष आन्तादा परार्थात् पृथिव्यै समुद्रपर्यन्ताया एकराडिति तमेतेनैन्द्रेण महाभिषेकेण क्षत्रियं शापयित्वाभिषिञ्चेत्। ऐ. ब्रा. 39. 1. The words from साम्राज्यं to एकराडिति are quite familiar to all brāhmaṇas even in modern times.

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²⁶⁶⁸ या पत्नीनां प्रियतमा यजमानस्य सा वावाता राजपुत्री। अनपचिता परिवृक्ती। लाट्यायनश्रौ. IX. 10. 1-2.

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Various rules are stated about the horse's colour and other qualities (Śat. Br. XIII. 4. 2. 4, Kāt. XX. 1. 29-35, Lāṭ. IX. 9. 4). The horse must be all white with dark circular spots and of great speed, or the front part of its body may be dark and the rest of the body white, or it may have a tuft of dark blue hair. The horse is sprinkled with holy water by the four principal priests standing in the four directions (from the east), each surrounded respectively by a hundred princes, a hundred ugras who are not kings, by sūtas and village headmen, and by chamberlains and saṁgrahītṛs (Āp. XX. 4, Śat. XIV. 1. 31). A dog with four eyes (i. e. having two natural eyes and two depressions in the skin above the eyes) is killed by a man of the āyogava caste or by a voluptuary with the pestle of sidhraka wood. The horse is made to enter water and the corpse of the dog is with a loop of reeds made to float under the horse (Āp. XX. 3. 6-13, Kāt. XX. 1. 38 ff., Śat. XIV. 1. 30-34). The horse is brought near the fire and offerings are made in the fire till the water ceases to drip down from the horse's body (Kāt. XX. 2. 3-5). A girdle made of muñja grass or of darbhas 12 or 13 aratnis long and smeared with the ājya that remains after being poured over the brahmaudana is invoked with the mantra ‘imām—agṛbhṇan raśanām ṛtasya’ (Tai. S. IV. I. 2. 1, Vāj. S. 22. 2) and the horse is bound with it after taking the permission of the brahmā priest.

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The horse, having water sprinkled over it with mantras and after the sacrificer repeats into its right ear the several appellations for a horse (Āp. XX. 5. 1–9), is let off to roam over the country accompanied by four hundred guards with the mantra ‘O gods, the guardians of quarters, protect this horse &c.’ (Vāj. S. XXII. 19, Tai. S. VII. 1. 12. 1). The guards include one hundred princes deserving to be seated on couches in the presence of the king, wearing armour and the other guards are armed with swords, arrows and thick clubs according to their rank (Tai. Br. III. 8. 9, Āp. XX. 5. 10–14, Kāt. XX. 2. 11). The horse is allowed to roam for a year where it likes and is not made to turn back, but it is prevented from associating with mares or plunging into water for a bath (Kāt. XX. 2. 12–13). While doing their duty of guarding the horse, the guards are to subsist by demanding food from brāhmaṇas who do not know the procedure of Aśvamedha (or depriving them of it) or on cooked food taken from all brāhmaṇas; they may stay in the houses of chariot-makers (Āp. XX. 5. 15–18, Kāt. XX. 2. 15–16). Every day during the year that the horse is absent, three iṣṭis are offered to Savitṛ in the morning, mid-day and evening, when Savitṛ is respectively addressed as Satyaprasava, Prasavitṛ and Āsavitṛ; (Āśv. X. 6. 8, Lāṭ. IX. 9. 10, Kāt. XX. 2. 6).

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When the prayāja offerings are made a brāhmaṇa (other than the priests) with a vīṇā chants three laudatory gāthās in honour of the king composed by himself stating ‘you donated this, you performed such and such a sacrifice, you cooked food for distribution’ (Āp. XX. 6. 5, Kāt. XX. 2. 7). This singing took place thrice a day after the iṣṭi to Savitṛ (Śat. Br. XIII. 4. 2. 8–14, Tai. Br. III. 9. 14). A kṣatriya lute player also sang three laudatory songs (Śat. Br. XIII. 1. 5. 6, Āp. XX. 6. 14) referring to the battles fought and victories won by the sacrificer. Every day for a year after the iṣṭi to Savitṛ is finished the hotṛ sitting on a golden cushion to the south of the āhavanīya fire recites to the crowned king surrounded by his sons and ministers the narratives called ‘Pāriplava’ (revolving or recurring legends). When about to commence the Pāriplava the hotṛ makes the summons ‘adhvaryo3’ and the adhvaryu seated on a golden seat (with four legs) responds with ‘ho hotar' (Āśv. X. 6. 10–13).²⁶⁶⁹ The other priests also sit down on cushions or boards and bands of singers holding lutes sit down to the south and sing of the good deeds of the king along with those of his ancestors (Āp. XX. 6. 13). As the king is thus engaged in sacrifices and in listening to the Pāriplava²⁶⁷⁰ and to the songs, Āp. (XX. 3. 1–2) notes that, till the Aśvamedha is performed, the adhvaryu becomes the king, as the sacrificer (the crowned king) declares 'O brāhmaṇas and nobles!

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this adhvaryu is your king. Whatever honour you (usually pay to me) should be paid to him. May whatever he does be regarded as done by you.' Āśv. (X. 7. 1–10) sets out what the Pāriplava is. Śat. Br. XIII. 4. 3 and Śāṅ. XVI. 2 also deal at length with the Pāriplava and they agree with Āśv. in most places. For ten days one after another different texts are recited and this goes on for a year in narrative cycles of ten days. On the first day the hotṛ says 'Manu was the son of Vivasvat, men are his subjects' and points at the house-holders sitting down in the sacrificial hall with 'they (men as subjects of Manu) are here sitting down' and then recites some one hymn of the Ṛgveda saying 'to-day the Veda is that of ṛks.' On the second day he says 'Yama is the son of Vivasvat, the pitṛs are his subjects' and points to the old men assembled and recites one anuvāka from the Yajurveda. On the 3rd day Varuṇa and the gandharvas (as his subjects identified with fine looking young men) are mentioned and some hymn from the Atharva-veda dealing with diseases and their cure was narrated. On the 4th day the narration relates to Soma, son of Viṣṇu and Apsarases (identified with beautiful young women), and some hymn containing magic spells from the Āṅgirasa Veda; on the 5th the narration relates to Arbuda Kādraveya and serpents (identified with visitors who know serpent lore and poison lore);

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on the 6th day to Kubera Vaiśravaṇa, his subjects the Rakṣases (identified with evil doing selagas and the lore of Piśāca Veda (?). On the 7th the narration relates to Asita Dhānvana, his subjects the Asuras and usurers and some illusion (a trick) from Asura lore, on the 8th day to Matsya Sāmada, his subjects aquatic animals, Puñjiṣṭhas (fishermen) from Matsya country and some Purāṇa passage from the Purāṇa-veda, on the 9th to Tārkṣya, son of Vipaścit, his subjects the birds and brahmacārins and some narrative (itihāsa) from the itihāsaveda; on the 10th day Dharma Indra, his subjects the gods and the young śrotriyas who accept no gifts, and some sāman from the Sāmaveda. Every day for a year in the evening four oblations called Dhṛti were made in the āhavanīya (Kāt. XX. 3. 4). On the first day 49 homas called Prakramas were made in the dakṣiṇa fire with Vāj. S. XXII. 7-8 (beginning with 'hiṁkārāya svāhā'). Vide Śat. Br. XIII. 1. 3. 5, Tai. S. VII. 1. 19. In this way the Sāvitrī iṣṭis, singing, listening to Pāriplava and Dhṛti offerings went on for a year. For a year the sacrificer kept observances as in the Rājasūya (Lāṭ. IX. 9. 14). Large fees were given to the hotṛ and adhvaryu (Lāṭ. IX. 9. 12-13 and 16) and to the singers (Kāt. XX. 3. 7).

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²⁶⁶⁹ Various methods of response (प्रतिगर) are mentioned by Āp. and others. 'उपविष्टेष्वाध्वर्यो३इत्यध्वर्युं होता मन्त्रयते। हो३चि होतरित्यध्वर्युः प्रतिगृणाति। ओं होतरिति वा।' आप. XX. 6. 11-12; 'हवै होतरिति प्रतिश‍ृणोति।' कात्या. XX. 3. 2; होयि होतरिति सर्वत्र प्रतिश‍ृणोति। शाङ्ख्यायन 16. 1. 27. Āp. (XX.6.7) says that Pāriplava and Bhauvanyava are recited every day for a year.

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²⁶⁷⁰ The following quotations will illustrate the Pāriplava recital. प्रथमेहनि मनुर्वैवस्वतस्तस्य मनुष्या विशस्त इम आसत इति गृहमेधिन उपस मानीताः स्युस्तानुपदिशत्यृचो वेदः सोऽयमिति सूक्तं निगदेत्। द्वितीयेहनि यमो वैवस्वतस्तस्य पितरो विशस्त इम आसत इति स्थविरा उपस मानीताः स्युस्तानुपदिशति यजुर्वेदो वेदः सोयमित्यनुवाकं निगदेत्। आश्व. X. 7. 1-2. In the Vedāntasūtra (III. 4. 23–24) the conclusion is stated that the ākhyānas (such as that of Pratardana and Indra in Kauṣītaki Up. III. 1, of Jānaśruti in Chān. Up. IV. 1. 1 and of Yājñavalkya and his wives in Bṛ. Up. IV 5. 1) in the Upaniṣads are not meant to be recited in the Pāriplava, since only certain legends alone are specified in the texts for that purpose.

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Several expiatory ceremonies are prescribed (Āp. XXII. 7. 9-20, Kāt. XX. 3. 13-21) if the horse died or suffered from disease. If the horse was carried away by an enemy the sacrifice was destroyed. At the end of the year the horse was brought to a stable and the sacrificer underwent dīkṣā (initiation). There were 12 dīkṣās, 12 uposads and three sutyā days (days on which soma was pressed). Vide Śat. Br. XIII. 4. 4. 1, Āśv. X. 8. 1, Lāṭ. IX. 9. 17. After the dīkṣā the sacrificer is sung as on a par with the gods and on the pressing days, at the time of avabhṛtha, the udayanīyā iṣṭi, the anubandhyā and the udavasānīyā he is spoken of as on a par with Prajāpati.²⁶⁷¹ There are 21 yūpas (stakes) all being 21 aratnis high. The central one is of Rājjudāla (śleṣmātaka) tree. On its two sides are two pine yūpas and on both sides thereafter there are three yūpas each of bilva, khadira and palāśa (Tai. Br. III. 8. 9, Śat. Br. XIII. 4. 4. 5, Āp. XX. 9. 6-8, Kāt. XX. 4. 16-20). Large numbers of animals are tied at all these stakes and slaughtered. Even wild animals like boars and birds are bound and held between the intervals of the yūpas (Āp. XX, 14. 2 ff.). Vide Vāj. S. XXIV for a list of hundreds of animals out of which those from Kapiñjala onwards (Vāj. S. XXIV. 20 ff.) are let off after fire is carried round them (Kāt. XX. 6. 9, Āp. XX. 17. 5).

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The 2nd among the three pressing days is the most important and is full of several very striking matters (such as the ribald dialogue, the brahmodya &c.). The horse to be sacrificed is yoked to a chariot along with three horses, the adhvaryu and sacrificer occupy the chariot and take it to a lake or reservoir of water, make the horses enter it (Kāt. XX. 5. 11-14). On the horse's return to the sacrificial ground it is anointed with clarified butter by the crowned queen, the favourite queen and the discarded queen in the front, the middle and hind parts of its body respectively. They also respectively tie 101 golden beads on the head, mane and tail of the horse with bhūḥ, bhuvaḥ and svaḥ. They give the remnants of the previous night's offering to the horse with Vāj. S. XXIII. 8. If it does not eat it the remnants are cast into water. Near the yūpa a dialogue takes place between the hotṛ who asks 'who wanders alone' (Vāj. S. XXIII. 9) and 'who was the first to be thought of' (Vāj. S. XXIII. 11) and the brahmā replies with Vāj. S. XXIII. 10 and 12 respectively. The horse is praised by repeating Ṛg. I. 163 (Āśv. X. 8. 5). A piece of cloth is spread over grass, thereon a mantle is spread and a gold piece is placed thereon and the horse is killed thereon. Before the words 'adhṛigo śamīdhvam' in the adhṛigu praiṣa Ṛg. I. 162 and Ṛg. I. 163. 12-13 are to be recited.

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When the horse is killed, the wives of the king go round it thrice from left to right with 'gaṇānām tvā', thrice from right to left with 'priyāṇām tvā' and again thrice from left with 'nidhinām tvā' (all in Vāj. S. XXIII. 19). They fan the dead horse with their garments while braiding their hair on the right side upwards loosening the hair on the left side and strike their left thighs with their right hands (Āp. XXII. 17. 13, Āśv. X. 8. 8). The crowned queen lies down by the side of the dead horse and both are covered by the adhvaryu with the mantle on which the horse lies and she unites with it (Āp. XXII. 18. 3-4, Kāt. XX. 6. 15-16). Then according to Āśv. X. 8. 10-13 outside the vedi the hotṛ abuses the crowned queen in obscene language and she returns the abuse along with her one hundred attendant princesses and the brahmā priest and the favourite wife enter into a similar obscene abuse. According to Kāt. XX. 6. 18 the four principal priests and the chamberlain enter into an obscene abusive dialogue (given in Vāj. S. XXIII. 22-31) with the queens along with their young female attendants. Vide Śat. Br. XIII. 2. 9 and Lāṭ. IX. 10. 3-6. The attendant princesses raise the crowned queen from near the horse with 'dadhikrāvṇo' (Ṛg. IV. 39. 6 = Vāj. S. XXIII. 32). The horse is cut up with golden, silver and iron (*lauhī* may mean copper) needles by the crowned queen, the favourite queen and the discarded one with Vāj. S. XXIII. 33-38.

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They take out the fat of the dead horse in place of the omentum taken from the goat in other sacrifices (Āp. XXII. 18. 10-11, Kāt. XX. 7. 7). The blood of the horse is cooked and offered at the end of the other offerings to sviṣṭakṛt (Āp. XXII. 19. 10 and Kāt. XX. 8. 8.). Before the omentum of the animals meant for Prajāpati is offered there is *brahmodya* (a theological dialogue, where questions and riddles are propounded and answers given) between the priests in the *sadas*. According to Āśv. X. 9. 2-3 at first the hotṛ asks the adhvaryu 'who roams alone &c.' (Vāj. S. 23. 45) and the adhvaryu replies 'the sun roams alone &c.' (Vāj. S. 23. 46). Then the hotṛ again asks 'what light is like the sun's &c.' (Vāj. S. 23. 47) and the adhvaryu replies 'truth is light equal to the sun &c.' (Vāj. S. 23. 48, which however reads 'brahma sūryasamam'). Then the brahmā priest asks udgātṛ and he replies (Vāj. S. 23. 49-50), then the udgātṛ asks a question and the brahmā replies (Vāj. S. 23. 51-52). Then the four priests come out and each asks the sacrificer who sits facing the east the question 'I ask you the furthest limit of the earth &c.' (Ṛg. I. 164. 34) and the sacrificer replies 'this vedi is the furthest limit' (Ṛg. I. 164. 35). Vide Lāṭ. IX. 10. 9-14 for almost the same questions and answers.²⁶⁷² Kāt. (XX. 7. 10-15) mentions Vāj. S. XXIII. 49-62 as the dialogue that takes place at this stage in the Aśvamedha and states that Ṛg. I. 164. 34 (= Vāj. S. XXIII.

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61) is the question propounded by the sacrificer (and not by the priests as Āśv. says). Two grahas called Mahiman are offered, one before the omentum is offered and the other after it (Śat. Br. XIII. 5. 2. 23 referring to Vāj. S. XXIII. 2, Āśv. X. 9. 4, Kāt. XX. 7. 16-17 and 27). Offerings of the vapā of all animals are made to the several deities of whom Prajāpati is the last. Then the king sits on a lion's or tiger's skin, a piece of gold is placed on his head with Rg. I. 90. 1, a bull-hide is held over his head, he is sprinkled with the remnants (saṁsrāva) of the offerings called *mahiman* and offerings are made to the twelve months, Madhu, Mādhava &c. and seasons Vasanta &c. After the several offerings, on the third pressing day, the sacrificer performs the final purificatory bath. At the end of the avabhṛtha iṣṭi, on the head of a bald man,²⁶⁷³ whose eye-balls are yellowish-brown, who has prominent teeth, who is suffering from white leprosy and who dips into water, an offering is made (three according to Āp. XX. 22. 6) with the words 'to Jumbaka, svāhā' (Vāj. S. XXV. 9). Vide Kāt. XX. 8. 16, Śāṅ. XVI. 18. 18 and Śat. XIV. 5. 4. The latter add two important details, viz. that the man should be of the Atri gotra and that he should enter such deep water that it should flood his mouth. The Tai. Br. III. 9. 15 says that the āhuti 'to Jumbaka, svāhā' is the last in Aśvamedha and that Jumbaka means Varuṇa. A hundred cows and a cart to which bulls are yoked are given to him.

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When the sacrificer comes out of the water after avabhṛtha persons guilty of such grave sins as brāhmaṇa murder plunge into that water and become purified without having performed the penances prescribed for such sins (Kāt. XX. 8. 17-18).²⁶⁷⁴

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²⁶⁷¹ विशुद्धवाचि यजमाने संप्रेष्यति वीणागणकिनो देवैरिर्म यजमानं संगायतेति। एवं सर्वौपवसथात् । प्रजापतिना सुत्यास्ववभृथोदयनीयानुबन्ध्योदवसानीयास्त्विति। आप. XX. 7. 14-16.

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²⁶⁷² In several sacrifices such riddles were mooted; vide Āśv. VIII. 13. 14 for one in Daśarātra which is taken from Ait. Br. 24. 6, and Śat. Br. IV. 6. 9. 20; vide Tai. S. VII. 4. 18, Tai. Br. III. 9. 5 for brahmodya and Ṛg. X. 88. 18 and VIII. 58. 1-2 for questions and answers.

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²⁶⁷³ खलतेर्विाक्लिधस्य शुक्लस्य पिङ्गाक्षस्य मूर्धन् जुहोति । एतद्वै वरुणस्य रूपम् । तै. ब्रा. III. 9. 15.

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²⁶⁷⁴ Vide note 333 above where Tai. S. (V. 3. 12. 1-2) is cited viz. तरति ब्रह्महत्यां योऽश्वमेधेन यजते; Śat. Br. XIII. 3. 1. 1 has the same words. According to Gaut. 22. 9, Āp. Dh. S. I. 9. 24. 22 and Manu IX. 82-83 if the murderer of a brāhmaṇa, after declaring his crime, bathed in water in which the king took his final avabhṛtha bath, he would be free from that sin. Prof. Eggeling (S.B.E. vol. 44 p. XL. note 1) does not advert to the fact that expiation for brāhmaṇa murder was thus prescribed by the dharmasūtras.

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Apart from the gifts provided for many of the subordinate rites performed in the Aśvamedha, Lāṭ. (IX. 10. 15—IX. 11. 4) prescribes that on the first and last of the three soma pressing days he should donate a thousand cows and on the second day he should donate all the wealth that belongs to the non-brāhmaṇa residents in one district (janapada) out of his realm, or he should donate to the hotṛ the wealth in the eastern part of the country conquered by him and the wealth in the southern, western and northern parts respectively to the brahmā, adhvaryu and udgātṛ and their assistants or he should at least donate 48,000 cows to each of the four principal priests, 24000, 12000, 6000 to each of the four groups of three assistants of the principal priests in order. Āśv. X. 10. 10 also says that he should donate the wealth of non-brāhmaṇas in the four conquered quarters except land and human beings. Kāt. (XX. 4. 27–28) contains similar rules.

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Even in ancient times this sacrifice must have been rare. The Tai. S. V. 4. 12. 3 and Śat. Br. XIII. 3. 3. 6 both state that the Aśvamedha was a sacrifice which was *utsanna* (gone out of vogue). The Atharvaveda (XI. 7. 7–8) also appears to regard the Rājasūya, Vājapeya, Aśvamedha, the sattras and several other sacrifices as *utsanna*. The origin of the rite is obscure. In it several popular, religious and symbolical elements are inextricably blended and some rites like the queen lying down near the dead horse must be regarded as unaccountable survivals from the hoary past. Various theories have been advanced to account for the origin, but there is, as is to be expected, no agreement among scholars. Vide S. B. E. vol. 44. pp. XVIII–XXXIII, Prof. Keith's Introduction to Tai. S. pp. CXXXII ff. and 'Religion and Philosophy of the Veda' part 2 pp. 345–347 for the several theories of European scholars.

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In the Āśvamedhika parva of the Mahābhārata Aśvamedha is described at some length. It is probable that in the epic only the popular elements and a few of the religious rites were emphasized. In chap. 71. 16 Vyāsa tells Yudhiṣṭhira that the Aśvamedha purifies a person of all sins.²⁶⁷⁵ The dīkṣā took place on the full moon of Caitra (72. 4). The sphya, kūrcas and utensils were made of or inlaid with gold (72. 9–10.). The greatest warrior of the day, Arjuna, was appointed to guard the horse during its rambles for a year, and he was asked to avoid battle and carnage as far as possible (72. 23–24). The horse was kṛṣṇasāra (marked with dark spots, 73. 8). Arjuna was accompanied by a pupil of Yājñavalkya and many learned brāhmaṇas (73. 18) for the performance of propitiatory rites (śānti). No indication is given as to the number of soldiers that accompanied Arjuna. The horse is said to have wandered over the whole of India from east to south, then west to north. After many fights with opponents Arjuna meets death at the hands of his son Babhruvāhana, king of Maṇipura, whom he upbraided for meek submission, but is brought back to life by his wife Ulūpī, the Nāga princess (chap. 80). Arjuna spares the lives of the opponents whom he vanquishes and invites them to the sacrifice. The description of the sacrifice follows the general outline given above. But there is hardly any detailed or graphic description of the special features of Aśvamedha and one rather carries the impression that the author does not depict what he has seen but only what he has heard or read. The pravargya (88. 21) and the pressing of soma are mentioned (88. 22). There were six yūpas of bilva, 6 of khadira, two of devadāru and one of śleṣmātaka (88. 27-28). Bull's heads and aquatic animals were built into the fire altar (88. 34). Draupadī was made to lie by the dead horse (89. 2-3). There are several points of difference. The altar is shaped like a Garuḍa (88. 32), the bricks were of gold, and 300 animals were sacrificed. It is said that the vapā of the horse was offered (89. 3), while Āp. (XX. 18. 11) emphatically states that there is no vapā in the case of the horse. Great emphasis is laid on the huge masses of food distributed to all, on the drinking bouts and singing parties and the feeding of the poor and helpless (88. 23, 89. 39-43). Crores of niṣkas were donated to brāhmaṇas and the whole earth to Vyāsa (89. 8-10) who returned it to Yudhiṣṭhira for gold to be given to him and to brāhmaṇas. The Bālakāṇḍa of Rāmāyaṇa (chap. 13-14) contains a more graphic description of the Aśvamedha performed by Daśaratha for securing sons. It expressly refers to the Kalpasūtra (tryaho'śvamedhaḥ saṁkhyātaḥ kalpasūtreṇa brāhmaṇaiḥ).

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²⁶⁷⁵ अश्वमेधो हि राजेन्द्र पावनः सर्वपाप्मनाम् । तेनेष्ट्वा त्वं विपाप्मा वै भविता नात्र संशयः ॥ आश्वमेधिक 71. 16.

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In I. A. vol. VIII. p. 273 (at p. 278) we find that a general, called Udayacandra, of Nandivarma Pallavamalla (about the 9th century A. D.) defeated Pṛthivivyāghra, king of Niṣadha, who had accompanied the horse in his horse sacrifice. In E. C. vol. X. Kolar No. 63 it is stated in an inscription of 757 A. D. that the Cālukya emperor Pulakeśi was purified by his bath at an Aśvamedha. In the very ancient Nanaghat Inscription (A. S. W. I. vol. V. pp. 60-61) an Andhra king²⁶⁷⁶ is described as having performed the Rājasūya, two Aśvamedhas, Gargatrirātra, Gavāmayana and Aṅgirasām-ayana.²⁶⁷⁷ In the first half of the 18th century Savaī Jayasiṅg, king of Amber, performed an Aśvamedha (vide Īśvaravilāsakāvya of Kṛṣṇa-kavi, D. C. Ms No. 273 of 1884-86 and 'Poona Orientalist,' vol. II. pp. 166-180).

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²⁶⁷⁶ In the Bhāgavata-purāṇa XII. 1. 20 the founder of the Andhras is said to have been a vṛṣala and the Matsya (144. 43) says that śūdra kings will perform Aśvamedha in the Kali age.

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²⁶⁷⁷ For further information on Aśvamedha vide Tai. S. IV. 6. 6-9, IV. 7. 15, V. 1-6, VII. 1-5; Tai. Br. III. 8-9, Śat. Br. XIII. 1-5, Āp. XX. 1-23, Śat. XIV, Āśv. X. 6-10, Kāt. XX, Lāṭ. IX. 9-11, Baud. XV; S. B. E. vol. 44 Intro. pp. XXIV-XXXIII, Prof. Keith's tr. of Tai. S. CXXXII-CXXXVII.

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