Heard from one of my friend that In one of his books S.Ramakrishnan has written about Aswa Medha Yagam. Anyone read that, can throw some light on the same.
Udanx, I am not sure about the particular Aswamedha yagam you are referring to. In general Aswameda is an ancient rite referred to in the Ramayana (maybe other puranas also.). The king doing the rite does a yagna/sacrifice and releases a horse which is followed by his army on foot. Whereever the horse choses to go that territory is annexed by the king and whoever challenges that is to go to war with his army.
Dear Malathi, may I add that after the territory is conquered, the horse is sacrificed in an elaborate ritual featuring a special sacrificial pole, The victorious queen simulates making love to the dead horse [correct me if I'm wrong] Kathie B. > > Messages | Files | Photos | Links | Database | Polls | Calendar > > Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) > Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch > format to Traditional > Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe > RECENT ACTIVITY > 15 > New Members > 5 > New Photos > Visit Your Group > Star Wars on Y! > Discover new content > Connect with other > fans & upload video. > Sitebuilder > Build a web site > quickly & easily > with Sitebuilder. > All-Bran > Day 10 Club > on Yahoo! Groups > Feel better with fiber. > . > >
May I point out some differences - the 'yaga' performed by Rama's father and Rama were for two different purposes, Rama's father was for progeny and Rama's was territorial sovereignity. Rama's father performed Putrakameshti in addition to the Aswamedha, which was for progeny. There was no eating of flesh in Rama's yagna, as also the same yagna performed by Yudhishtir in Mahabharat (although not much is said about it). The wiki article is inaccurate when it says Rama performed the yaga after Sita's 'death' - he performed it before her departure with a golden statue representing her. She surrenders his sons to him in the sacrificial hall and departs to her mother's abode (not dies).
or restless thoughts. Medha is mind, and mind over thought stands for conquest of self ultimately leading to conquest of the world.
In the book The early Pallavas by D C Sircar, he devotes an entire chapter to the asvamedha sacrifice. will see if i can scan the relevant portion and upload in the files section.
further,apart from references in the various epics, epigrahically this sacrifice has been in existance from pre ashoka days.
below from various Epigrahica Indica volumes...
Sunga dynasty -a king by name Pushyamitra - revived asvamedha which were prohibited by ashoka
Apart from this the other major vedic sacrifices were Agnihotra, Agnishtoma, Yajapeya .
The first king of the Chalukya line Polekesin (1) performed horse sacrifices.
Another important point in this connection is that in the Hirahadagalli grant the earliest known Pallava king, Sivaskandavarman, who appears to have ruled in the first quarter of the fourth century A- D., is reported to have performed the Asvameda sacrifice.
The Iksvakus who succeeded the Satavahanas in the rule of the Kistna- Guntur region. The sovereignty of the Iksvakus over the Andhra thus appears to have begun from about the end of the first quarter of the third century AD. Visiathiputra I, the first known Ikwaku king, should be placed after the time of Caocja(^n). He could not have been a feudatory of the Satavahanas, as he is said to be a performer of the Asvamedha and yajapeya sacrifices.
According to the evidence of the Mayidavolu grant, dated in the reign of Sivaskandavarman's father, the Andhrapatha (i. e. the Andhra country) with its headquarters at Dhamfiakada (Dh&nyakataka) passed from the Iksvakus to the possession of the Pallavas. Pallava Sivaskandavarman - was also a performer of the great Vajapeya and Aivamedha sacrifices
Among my classmates we had a long discussion (Mail thread) about this yesterday. When ever I think of asking something in our group I use to write a one liner to SPS - To get to know whether this has been discussed in our group. Always I use to get an "YES" barring one mail - regarding Jodha - Akbar. This one I didn't ask him and thankfully this wasnt discussed (Moral of the story don't ask SPS. SPS just kidding)
Coming back to the topic, as you rightly pointed out whats the Chief Queens business with the dead horse? Probably we need to dive deep into this to find out the exact reason. But we may end up getting the exact reason which may not be applicable to today's society. Infact there were many rituals in ancient Hinduism which doesn't hold any value in today's society.
In Manu Needhi I found that if a married man dies without any issues the elders would select a suitable man for the widow through whom she will bear a child. Reason -- The kid should do the filial duties for the man who died without an issue. The point is we may get the exact reason but it may not be acceptable in today's world. For the sake of knowledge we can learn.
Udanx and Dr Sri, yes we all have a need to understand this better, perhaps. As Udanx said lot of rituals may not make sense in modern context. This horse sacrifice episode has offended several people's sentiments since we want to believe the epics happened a certain way, and also it is quite bestial in nature. Dalit reformer Dr Ambedkar frequently mentioned it in his writings as example of degradation of brahmanical culture. Early western translators of the epics purportedly refused to translate this part (although the Bible is not less crude in some of its own episodes). It is all the more reason for us not to literally believe in the Ramayana or the Mahabharat, the safest and best way to accept our epics is the allegorical stance that Gandhi took of the Bhagavad Gita, all blood and gore is allegorical, all rituals are allegorical as well and may or may not have happened. If we prefer to keep the mental image of epics happening like movies and tv serials we are setting ourselves up for disappointment - although there is nothing really wrong in enjoying movies as they are.
There are many allegorical interpretations of this ritual. It is not anything sweet or nice to discuss or understand. It is crude and difficult, there is no easy way around it. I will post some interpretations if people still feel a need to learn more.
If I remember right the Rajasuya is a celebration after all other yagnas including Aswamedha. It is a declaration of the king as emperor followed by pomp and celebration with guest of honor. I will check on this more later today.
Hi i think the following would be of importance in this context
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Translated by Swami Madhavananda Published by Advaita Ashram, Kolkatta
I-i-1: Om. The head of the sacrificial horse is the dawn, its eye the sun, its vital force the air, its open mouth the fire called Vaisvanara, and the body of the sacrificial horse is the year. Its back is heaven, its belly the sky, its hoof the earth, its sides the four quarters, its ribs the intermediate quarters, its members the seasons, its joints the months and fortnights, its feet the days and nights, its bones the stars and its flesh the clouds. Its half- digested food is the sand, its blood-vessels the rivers, its liver and spleen the mountains, its hairs the herbs and trees. Its forepart is the ascending sun, its hind part the descending sun, its yawning is lightning, its shaking the body is thundering, its making water is raining, and its neighing is voice.