Ashvamedha

Ashvamedha yajna of Yudhisthira

The Ashvamedha (Sanskrit: अश्वमेध, romanized: aśvamedha) was a horse sacrifice ritual followed by the Śrauta tradition of Vedic religion. It was used by ancient Indian kings to prove their imperial sovereignty: a horse accompanied by the king's warriors would be released to wander for a year. In the territory traversed by the horse, any rival could dispute the king's authority by challenging the warriors accompanying it. After one year, if no enemy had managed to kill or capture the horse, the animal would be guided back to the king's capital. It would be then sacrificed, and the king would be declared as an undisputed sovereign.

The best-known text describing the sacrifice is the Ashvamedhika Parva (Sanskrit: अश्वमेध पर्व), or the "Book of Horse Sacrifice," the fourteenth of eighteen books of the Indian epic poem Mahabharata. Krishna and Vyasa advise King Yudhishthira to perform the sacrifice, which is described at great length. The book traditionally comprises 2 sections and 96 chapters. The critical edition has one sub-book and 92 chapters.

The ritual is recorded as being held by many ancient rulers, but apparently only by two in the last thousand years. The most recent ritual was in 1741, the second one held by Maharajah Jai Singh II of Jaipur.

The sacrifice

A 19th-century painting, depicting the preparation of army to follow the sacrificial horse. Probably from a picture story depicting Lakshmisa's Jaimini Bharata

The Ashvamedha could only be conducted by a powerful victorious king (rājā). Its object was the acquisition of power and glory, the sovereignty over neighbouring provinces, seeking progeny and general prosperity of the kingdom. It was enormously expensive, requiring the participation of hundreds of individuals, many with specialized skills, and hundreds of animals, and involving many precisely prescribed rituals at every stage.

The horse to be sacrificed must be a white stallion with black spots. The preparations included the construction of a special "sacrificial house" and a fire altar. Before the horse began its travels, at a moment chosen by astrologers, there was a ceremony and small sacrifice in the house, after which the king had to spend the night with the queen, but avoiding sex.

The next day the horse was consecrated with more rituals, tethered to a post, and addressed as a god. It was sprinkled with water, and the Adhvaryu, the priest and the sacrificer whispered mantras into its ear. A "four-eyed" black dog was killed with a club made of Sidhraka wood, then passed under the horse, and dragged to the river from which the water sprinkled on the horse had come and set to flow south. The horse was then set loose towards the north-east, to roam around wherever it chose, for the period of one year, or half a year, according to some commentators. The horse was associated with the Sun, and its yearly course. If the horse wandered into neighbouring provinces hostile to the sacrificer, they were to be subjugated. The wandering horse was attended by a herd of a hundred geldings, and one or four hundred young kshatriya men, sons of princes or high court officials, charged with guarding the horse from all dangers and inconvenience, but never impeding or driving it. The escort had to prevent the stallion from mating with any mares during its journey, and if he did, an oblation of milk was performed to Vāyu. If the horse became ill with injury, an oblation of pap to Pūṣan. If he became ill without injury, then an oblation of cake to Agni Vaiśvānara. If he was afflicted with eye disease, an oblation to Sūrya. If the horse drowned, an oblation was performed to Varuṇa. If the horse was lost, an oblation of cake, potsherd, and three other dishes to the deities of heaven and earth, along with an oblation of milk to Vāyu and pap to Sūrya. If the horse died, then another was selected and consecrated to replace it. During the absence of the horse, an uninterrupted series of ceremonies was performed in the sacrificer's home. Every day, three Sāvitreṣṭi rites and one evening Dhṛtihoma would be conducted by the priests. In the evening after the Dhṛtihoma, two Brahmin and two Kshatriya bards and lutists would praise the patron king's generosity, who gave 4,000 cows and 400 gold coins to the priests on the first day of the sacrifice. Then a session of pariplavākhyāna took place. The pariplāvana was the cyclical recitation of tales, in which one out of ten topics would be discussed each night, with 36 cycles of the ten topics. The tales were witnessed by an audience of onlookers called the upadrāṣṭṛ, who attended in their free time.

Depiction of the Asvamedha in History of India (1906)

After the return of the horse, more ceremonies were performed for a month before the main sacrifice. Twelve days of dīkṣā rites took place, and then twelve days of upasad. The dīkṣā rite was a preparatory consecration rite performed before sacrifices. It consisted of a preliminary oblation, and then the king would bathe, dress in black antelope skin, and sit on another skin in a hut in front of a fire, fasting in silence with a covered head and sleeping on the ground. The upasad was a multiday ceremony that precedes Soma sacrifices. It consisted of the acquisition and welcoming of Soma and the construction of various structures needed for the sacrifice, along with the sacrifice of a goat.

On the twenty-fifth day, the agniṣṭoma was performed. The agniṣṭoma was the main part of the Soma sacrifice. In the morning pressing, the soma was pressed out and offered along with "rice cakes, parched barley, flour in sour milk, parched rice, and a hot mixture of milk and sour milk". During the pressings and oblations, five musical chants were sung and five recitations were chanted. The priests then partook in the drinking of the soma and the twelve oblations to the seasons, and the sacrifice of a goat to Agni. The midday pressing was similar and dedicated to Indra, and dakshina was also distributed on that day to the priests consisting of a varying multitude of cows. At the evening pressing only two musical chants were sung and two recitations chanted. Then proceeded the conclusory libations to the "yoking of the bay horses" and the sun, followed by the Avabhṛtha. The Avabhṛtha was the "unpurificatory" bathing of the sacrificer at the end of the sacrifice. After an antelope skin was put in the water body, the king, his wife, and the priests ritually bathe. Afterwards a sterile cow or eleven other animals are sacrificed. Throughout the entire night, the annahoma was performed at the Uttaravedi (the northern altar). It consists of an oblation of clarified butter, fried rice, fried barley, and fried grain.

On the twenty-sixth day, the king was ritually purified, and the horse was yoked to a gilded chariot, together with three other horses, and Rigveda (RV) 1.6.1,2 (YajurVeda (YV) VSM 23.5,6) was recited. The horse was then driven into water and bathed. After this, it was anointed with ghee by the chief queen and two other royal consorts. The chief queen (mahiṣī) anointed the fore-quarters, the favorite wife (vāvātā) the middle, and the discarded wife (parvṛktī) the hindquarters. They also embellished the horse's head, neck, and tail with golden ornaments and 101 or 109 pearls. After this, the horse, a hornless black-necked he-goat, and a Gomṛga were bound to sacrificial stakes near the fire, and seventeen other animals were attached with ropes to the horse. The he-goat dedicated to Agni was attached to the horse's chest. A ewe dedicated to Sarasvatī was attached under the horse's mouth. Two black-bellied he-goats dedicated to the Aśvins were tied to the horse's front legs. A dark grey he-goat dedicated to Soma-Pūṣan was attached underneath the horse. On the two sides of the horse were attached a black goat to Sūrya and a white goat to Yama. Two goats with shaggy thighs were dedicated to Tvaṣṭar. A white goat dedicated to Vāyu was attached to the tail. A cow about to give birth was dedicated to Indra, and a dwarfish cow was dedicated to Viṣṇu. A great number of animals, both tame and wild, were tied to other stakes, according to one commentator, 609 in total. The sacrificer offered the horse the remains of the night's oblation of grain. The horse was then killed using a powerful mantra and later given a heavenly body using Mritsanjeevani mantra.

File:Aswamedha of pandavas.jpg

Ashvamedha of Pandavas

Generally all the big vedic yajñas are performed throughout the daytime and night for preventing the demons and Brahmarakshasas from spoiling the yajña. The chief queen ritually called on the king's fellow wives for pity. The queens circumambulate the dead horse reciting mantras and make three symbolic marks on the body of the horse using a golden needle. Then the chief queen along with other royal ladies and their maidservants sits near the slained horse, praying for the welfare and prosperity of the King who is performing this yajña and his kingdom(including the whole world) and they are free from any contact with the corpse.

Prayers for the King:

" अश्वस्य शिश्न महिष्युपस्थे निधते "- Prayer by Sage Yagyavalkya. meanings: अश्वस्य- King who is performing the yajña (" क्षत्र वा अश्व: क्षत्र राजन्य: | " Shataptha Brahmana-13/4/1/12); शिश्न- One with opulence (" शिश्नमिन्द्र "- Shataptha Brahmana-12/9/2/2 अर्थात इंद्र शिश्न है |); महिषी- Speech (" महिषी वा वाक् "-शतपथ 6/5/3/4, For speech is a mahishi); उपस्थये- Lap; निधते- kept or made seated; Translation: May the King's might and brilliance be expressed in his speech. (May the voice of the King roar like a lion to maintain law and order in the state and to protect his citizens and all others who approach him for shelter. For it is the duty of the King to prevent any adharmik activity from happening in the kingdom.)

1) ऋषिः प्रजापतिः । देवता-प्राणादयः । छन्द:- विराड्जगती । स्वर:- निषादः ॥

  प्रा॒णाय॒ स्वाहा॑पा॒नाय॒ स्वाहा॑ व्या॒नाय॒ स्वाहा॑। अम्बे॒ऽअम्बि॒केऽम्बा॑लिके॒ न मा॑ नयति॒ कश्च॒न। सस॑स्त्यश्व॒कः सुभ॑द्रिकां काम्पीलवा॒सिनी॑म्॥१८॥ ~ Yajur Veda-23.18

  Meanings: 1. गतमन्त्र की ज्ञानवाणियों का ध्यान करते हुए कहते हैं कि प्राणाय= प्राणशक्ति की वृद्धि के लिए अग्नि का वर्णन करनेवाली, ऋग्वाणी जो अम्बा=(Rig Veda) माता के समान हितकर है, यह स्वाहा= (सुआह) उत्तमता से कही गई है। 2. अपानाय अपान-दोषों के दूरीकरण की शक्ति की वृद्धि के लिए यह वायु का वर्णन करनेवाली यजुर्वाणी जो अम्बिका= (Yajur Veda)दादी (पितामही द०) के समान हितकर है, यह स्वाहा= उत्तमता से कही गई है। 3. व्यानाय स्वाहा= (व्यानः सर्वशरीरगः) व्यान के लिए सारे शरीर को नियन्त्रण में रखने के लिए प्रतिपादित की गई यह सामवाणी सूर्य का वर्णन करती हुई अम्बालिका=(Sama Veda) प्रपितामही के समान हितकर है और इसका उत्तमता से प्रतिपादन हुआ है। 4. हे अम्बे= मातृवत् हितकारिणी अग्निविद्या, अम्बिके= पितामहीवत् हितकारिणी वायुविद्या तथा अम्बालिके= प्रपितामहीवत् हितकारिणी सूर्यविद्ये! ('अबि शब्दे' से ये तीनों शब्द बने हैं, अतः यहाँ शब्दप्रतिपाद्य विद्या के वाचक हैं) आपकी कृपा से मा= मुझे कश्चन= संसार का कोई भी विषय या प्रलोभन न नयति= धर्म के मार्ग से दूर नहीं ले जाता Not to be led away ) 5. ज्ञान प्राप्त करके सदा उत्तम क्रियाओं में व्याप्त रहनेवाला (अश् व्याप्तौ) अश्वक= (अश्व: एव अश्वकः स्वार्थे कन्) क्रियाशील शक्तिशाली पुरुष सुभद्रिकाम्= उत्तम कल्याण व सुख को सिद्ध करनेवाली काम्पीलवासिनीम्= (कं सुखं पीलयति गृह्णाति तं वा संयाति तां लक्ष्मीम् द०) सुख-संग्रहण में निवास करनेवाली लक्ष्मी को ससस्ति= प्राप्त करके आराम से शयन करता है। 'लक्ष्मीमधिशेते'-लक्ष्मी को प्राप्त करता है, इसी प्रकार लक्ष्मी ससस्ति=कल्याणकारिणी लक्ष्मी को प्राप्त करता है। 

  Translation: We should accept the words of knowledge, the exponent of Prana, Apana and Vyana (Vital life airs in our body). On receiving these knowledge, no temptation of the world can defeat us. A person who engages in actions in this (material) world according to the right knowledge of Vedic Scriptures(Gyana Cakshu) lives comfortably attaining the welfare(blessings) of Lakshmi.

2) ऋषिः प्रजापतिः । देवता- गणपतिः । छन्द:- शक्वरी । स्वरः- धैवतः ।

   ग॒णानां॑ त्वा ग॒णप॑तिꣳहवामहे प्रि॒याणां॑ त्वा प्रि॒यप॑तिꣳहवामहे निधी॒नां त्वा॑ निधि॒पति॑ꣳ हवामहे वसो मम। आहम॑जानि गर्भ॒धमा त्वम॑जासि गर्भ॒धम्॥१९॥ ~ Yajur Veda-23.19

  Meanings: 1. गतमन्त्र की अम्बा= मातृवत् हितकारिणी ऋग्वाणी से गाणानां गणपतिम्=  ज्ञानेन्द्रियपञ्चक, कर्मेन्द्रियपञ्चक प्राणपञ्चक आदि अथवा आठ वसु, ग्यारह रुद्र व बारह आदित्यों के गुणों के गणपति= (Supreme Lord) रक्षक त्वा= तुझे हवामहे= पुकारते हैं। आपकी आराधना से हम चाहते हैं कि ये सब गण ठीक बने रहकर हमारे स्वास्थ्य को ठीक रखनेवाले हों। 2. गतमन्त्र की अम्बिका= पितामहीवत् हितकारिणी यजुर्वाणी से हम प्रियाणां प्रियपतिम्= प्रियों के भी प्रियपति त्वा= आपको हवामहे= पुकारते हैं। प्रियपति आपकी आराधना से हम यज्ञादि प्रिय कर्मों को करते हुए सभी के प्रिय हों। हमारे मनों में ईर्ष्या-द्वेष न हो। 3. गतमन्त्र की अम्बालिका= प्रपितामहीवत् हितकारिणी ज्ञानवाणी से हम निधीनां निधिपतिम्= निधियों के निधिपति सर्वोच्च ज्ञानकोश के रक्षक (यस्मात् कोशात् उद्धराम वेदम् अथर्व०) त्वा= आपको हवामहे= पुकारते हैं। निधिपति आपकी आराधना से हम भी ज्ञान के निधि बनने के लिए यत्नशील होते हैं और इस प्रकार मस्तिष्क के कोश को ज्ञाननिधि से भरनेवाले बनते हैं। 4. हे प्रभो! आप तो वस्तुतः मम वसो= मेरे बसानेवाले हो, मेरा उत्तम निवास आपपर ही निर्भर करता है। अतः 5. गर्भधम्=सब ब्रह्माण्ड को अपने गर्भ में धारण करनेवाले आपको अहम् = मैं आ अजानि= सर्वथा जाननेवाला बनूँ ( अज=गति=ज्ञान) आपको जानूँ, आपकी ओर चलूँ और आपको प्राप्त करूँ। 6.. त्वम्= तूही गर्भधम्= इस जगत् को गर्भ में धारण करनेवाली प्रकृति को अजासि= (अज गतिक्षेपणयोः) गति देते हो। आप ही प्रथम गति देनेवाले Prime mover हो। आप ही सारे संसार के सञ्चालक हो। 

  Translation: Worshiper of The Supreme Lord(Gana Pati) master of all the ganas, 33 Million Demigods. Let me know you as my ultimate shelter. Let me walk towards you who conceives the whole world. You are the one who activates and controls the material nature(prakriti) which gives birth to (manifests) this material universe. Please give me the ultimate destination which is the shelter at your Lotus Feet.

3) ऋषिः प्रजापतिः देवता- राजप्रजे । छन्द:- स्वाराडनुष्टुप् । स्वर:- गान्धारः ।

  ताऽउ॒भौ च॒तुरः॑ प॒दः स॒म्प्रसा॑रयाव स्व॒र्गे लो॒के प्रोर्णु॑वाथां॒ वृषा॑ वा॒जी रे॑तो॒धा रेतो॑ दधातु॥२०॥ ~Yajur Veda-23.20

  Meanings: 1. गतमन्त्र के 'गणपति, प्रियपति व निधिपति' का उपासक, प्रभु से कहता है कि ता उभौ = वे दोनों (राजा व प्रजा) चतुरः पद:= चार पगों ( 1)धर्म 2)अर्थ 3)काम 4)मोक्ष ) को संप्रसारयाव= विस्तार करें, अर्थात् चारों प्राप्तव्य पुरुषार्थों को 1)धर्म 2)अर्थ 3)काम 4)मोक्ष को विस्तृत करनेवाले बनें। 2. आपकी कृपा से धर्मार्थ-काम-मोक्ष को सिद्ध करनेवाले बनें और स्वर्गे लोके= स्वर्गलोक में, सुखमयलोक में प्रोर्णुवाथाम्= अपने को आच्छादित करें, अर्थात् सुखमयलोक में निवास करनेवाले बनें। आप तो सुखस्वरूप हैं ही मैं भी आपकी कृपा से सुखमयलोक में रहने वाला बनूँ। 3. आप वृषा= सबपर सुखों की वर्षा करनेवाले वाजी = शक्तिशाली व रेतोधा= वीर्यशक्ति का धारण करनेवाले हैं। हे प्रभो! आप कृपा करके रेतः दधातु= राजा व प्रजा में शक्ति धारण कीजिए। 

  Translation: The King and his subjects in unison, magnify the four stages of Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha where with they reside happily in their country. The King, the chastiser of the wicked, full of knowledge, the possessor of strength and prowess, lends valour to his subjects.

4) ऋषिः - प्रजापतिः । देवता-न्यायाधीशः। छन्द:- भुरिग्गायत्री । स्वरः - षड्जः ।

  उत्स॑क्थ्या॒ऽअव॑ गु॒दं धे॑हि॒ सम॒ञ्जिं चा॑रया वृषन्। य स्त्री॒णां जी॑व॒भोज॑नः॥२१॥ ~Vajur Veda-23.21

  Meanings: 1. राष्ट्र में प्रजाओं में सदाचार फैलाना, सदाचार के वातावरण को उत्पन्न करना यह राजा का मुख्य कार्य होना चाहिए तभी प्रजाएँ शक्तिसम्पन्न बन पाएँगी। प्रस्तुत मन्त्र में राजा के लिए कहते हैं कि हे वृषन्= शक्तिशालिन् तथा प्रजाओं पर सुखों की वृष्टि करनेवाले राजन्! आप यः स्त्रीणां जीवभोजन:- प्राणियों का मांस खाने वाला व्यभिचारी पुरुष, जो स्त्रियों पर आजीविका चलानेवाला पुरुष है उस गुदम्= (गुद् क्रीडायाम्) विलासमय क्रीडावाले भोगासक्त पुरुष को उत्सवथ्या अवधेहि = ( उद्गते सक्थिनी यस्य) इसे उलटा लटका दे । विलास व व्यभिचार को फैलानेवाले को उलटा लटका देना चाहिए। इस प्रकार का कठोर दण्ड 'व्यभिचार' आदि को रोकने के लिए आवश्यक है। 2. राजा को यह भी चाहिए कि अजिं संचारय= ज्ञान के प्रकाश को फैलाये (अंजि- Brilliance)। अपराधों को दूर करने के लिए जहाँ अपराधियों को ऐसा दण्ड देना जो प्रत्यादेश के लिए हो, अर्थात् प्रजाओं में अपराधों को रोकनेवाला हो, वहाँ ज्ञान के प्रकाश को भी फैलाना चाहिए, जिससे लोगों की मनोवृत्ति ही परिवर्तित हो जाए। व्यभिचार से होनेवाली हानियों के जानने पर तथा संयमी जीवन के लाभों के स्पष्ट होने पर लोग इन बुराइयों से सम्भवतः दूर हटेंगे।

  Translation: To stop adultery and crime against women in the nation, the King should hang the wrongdoer man(aggressor) upside down and let the knowledge of the disadvantages of adultery and the benefits of abstinence to be propagated in the nation, so that the hearts of the people can be transformed.

On the next morning, the priests raise the queens and other women from the place. One priest cut the horse along the "knife-paths" while other priests started reciting the verses of Vedas, seeking healing and regeneration for the horse. The horse's epiploon along with soma are offered in an oblation, and the priests dismember the horse and other animal victims with an oblation of their blood. On the third day an Atirātra was performed. The Atirātra was a Soma sacrifice in which there was a nocturnal session where soma was drunk. Afterwards an Avabhṛtha takes place. However, in the Ashvamedha sinners and criminals also take part in the purificatory bathing. Afterwards twenty-one sterile cows are sacrificed, and the dakshina was distributed to the priests. The main dakshina forms the kingdom divided in 4 parts(north, south, east, west) giving to the 4 mains priests performing the ya

The Laws of Manu refer to the Ashvamedha (V.53): "The man who offers a horse-sacrifice every day for a hundred years, and the man who does not eat meat, the two of them reap the same fruit of good deeds."

On Gupta coins

One type of the gold coins of the Gupta Empire kings Samudragupta (reigned c. 350-370 CE) and Kumaragupta (reigned c. 415-455 CE) commemorates their Ashvamedha sacrifices. The obverse shows the horse anointed and decorated for sacrifice, standing in front of a Yūpa sacrificial post, and is inscribed "The king of kings who has performed the Vajimedha sacrifice wins heaven after protecting the earth". The reverse shows a standing figure of the queen, holding a fan and a towel, and is inscribed "Powerful enough to perform the Ashvamedha sacrifice".

• 
  Samudragupta, Ashvamedha horse
• 
  The queen, reverse of last
• 
  Samudragupta
• 
  Kumaragupta

Similar sacrifices elsewhere

Main article: Horse sacrifice

Many Indo-European branches show evidence for horse sacrifice, and comparative mythology suggests that they derive from a Proto-Indo-European ritual. Most appear to be funerary practices associated with burial, but for some other cultures there is tentative evidence for rituals associated with kingship. The Ashvamedha is the clearest evidence preserved, but vestiges from Latin and Celtic traditions allow the reconstruction of a few common attributes.

A similar ritual is found in Celtic tradition in which the king in Ireland conducted a rite of symbolic marriage with a sacrificed horse. The Roman October Horse sacrifice was an annual event, and apparently the only time horses were sacrificed, rather than cattle or smaller animals.

Horse sacrifices were performed among the ancient Germans, Armenians, Iranians, Chinese, Greeks, among others.

List of performers

Sanskrit epics and Puranas mention numerous legendary performances of the horse sacrifice. For example, according to the Mahabharata, Emperor Bharata performed a hundred Ashvamedha ceremonies on the banks of Yamuna, three hundred on the banks of Sarasvati and four hundred on the banks of the Ganga. He again performed a thousand Ashvamedha on different locations and a hundred Rajasuya. Following the vast empires ruled by the Gupta and Chalukya dynasties, the practice of the sacrifice diminished remarkably.

The historical performers of Ashvamedha include:

Monarch	Reign	Dynasty	Source
Purukutsa	Early Vedic Period	Puru
Trasadasyu Paurukutsya	Early Vedic Period	Puru
Sudās Paijavana	Early Vedic Period	Bharata
Parikṣit	Later Vedic Period	Kuru
Janamejaya Pārikṣita	Later Vedic Period	Kuru
Pushyamitra Shunga	185-149 BCE	Shunga	Ayodhya inscription of Dhanadeva and Malavikagnimitra of Kalidasa
Sarvatata	1st century BCE	Gajayana	Ghosundi and Hathibada inscriptions. Some scholars believe Sarvatata to be a Kanva king, but there is no definitive evidence for this.
Devimitra	1st century BCE	Unknown	Musanagar inscription
Satakarni I	1st or 2nd century CE	Satavahana	Nanaghat inscription mentions his second Ashvamedha
Vasishthiputra Chamtamula	3rd century CE	Andhra Ikshvaku	Records of his son and grandson
Shilavarman	3rd century CE	Varshaganya	Jagatpur inscriptions mention his fourth Ashvamedha
Pravarasena I	c. 270 – c. 330 CE	Vakataka	Inscriptions of his descendants state that he performed four Ashvamedha sacrifices
Bhavanaga	305-320 CE	Nagas of Padmavati	The inscriptions of Vakataka relatives of the Nagas credit them with 10 horse-sacrifices, although they do not name these kings.
Vijaya-devavarman	300-350 CE	Shalankayana	Ellore inscription
Shivaskanda Varman	4th century CE	Pallava	Hirahadagalli inscription
Kumaravishnu	4th century CE	Pallava	Omgodu inscription of his great-grandson
Mulawarman	4th century CE	Kutai Martadipura (present Indonesia)
Samudragupta	c. 335/350-375 CE	Gupta	Coins of the king and records of his descendants
Kumaragupta I	414 – 455 CE	Gupta
Madhava Varman	440-460 CE	Vishnukundina
Dharasena	5th century CE	Traikutaka
Krishnavarman	5th century CE	Kadamba
Narayanavarman	494–518 CE	Varman	Legend of Bhaskaravarman's seals
Bhutivarman	518–542 CE	Varman	Barganga inscription
Pulakeshin I	543–566 CE	Chalukyas of Vatapi
Sthitavarman	565–585 CE	Varman
Pulakeshin II	610–642 CE	Chalukyas of Vatapi
Madhavaraja II (alias Madhavavarman or Sainyabhita)	c. 620-670 CE	Shailodbhava	Inscriptions
Simhavarman (possibly Narasimhavarman I)	630-668 CE	Pallava	The Sivanvayal pillar inscription states that he performed ten Ashvamedhas
Adityasena	655-680 CE	Later Gupta	Vaidyanatha temple (Deoghar) inscription
Madhyamaraja I (alias Ayashobhita II)	c. 670-700 CE	Shailodbhava	Inscriptions; one interpretation of the inscriptions suggests that he merely participated in the Ashvamedha performed by his father Madhavaraja II
Dharmaraja (alias Manabhita)	c. 726-727 CE	Shailodbhava	Inscriptions; one interpretation of the inscriptions suggests that he merely participated in the Ashvamedha performed by his grandfather Madhavaraja II
Rajadhiraja Chola	1044–1052 CE	Chola
Jai Singh II	1734 and 1741 CE	Kachwahas of Jaipur	Ishvaravilasa Kavya by Krishna-bhatta, a participant in Jai Singh's Ashvamedha ceremony and a court poet of his son Ishvar Singh

• 
  The Dhanadeva-Ayodhya inscription, 1st century BCE, mentions two Ashvamedha rituals by Pushyamitra in the city of Ayodhya.

The Udayendiram inscription of the 8th-century Pallava king Nandivarman II (alias Pallavamalla) states that his general Udayachandra defeated the Nishada ruler Prithvivyaghra, who, "desiring to become very powerful, was running after the horse of the Ashvamedha". The inscription does not clarify which king initiated this Ashvamedha campaign. Historian N. Venkataramanayya theorized that Prithvivyaghra was a feudatory ruler, who unsuccessfully tried to challenge Nandivarman's Ashvamedha campaign. However, historian Dineshchandra Sircar notes that no other inscriptions of Nandivarman or his descendants mention his performance of Ashvamedha; therefore, it is more likely that the Ashvamedha campaign was initiated by Prithvivyaghra (or his overlord), and Nandivarman's general foiled it.

In Hindu revivalism

The horse Shyamakarna on the bank of Lake Dudumbhi, illustrating Jaimini's commentary on Ashvamedha, 19th century, Maharashtra

In the Arya Samaj reform movement of Dayananda Sarasvati, the Ashvamedha is considered an allegory or a ritual to get connected to the "inner Sun" (Prana) According to Dayananda, no horse was actually to be slaughtered in the ritual as per the Yajurveda. Following Dayananda, the Arya Samaj disputes the very existence of the pre-Vedantic ritual; thus Swami Satya Prakash Saraswati claims that

the word in the sense of the Horse Sacrifice does not occur in the Samhitas [...] In the terms of cosmic analogy, ashva s the Sun. In respect to the adhyatma paksha, the Prajapati-Agni, or the Purusha, the Creator, is the Ashva; He is the same as the Varuna, the Most Supreme. The word medha stands for homage; it later on became synonymous with oblations in rituology, since oblations are offered, dedicated to the one whom we pay homage. The word deteriorated further when it came to mean 'slaughter' or 'sacrifice'.

He argues that the animals listed as sacrificial victims are just as symbolic as the list of human victims listed in the Purushamedha (which is generally accepted as a purely symbolic sacrifice already in Rigvedic times).

Gayatri Pariwar since 1991 has organized performances of a "modern version" of the Ashvamedha where a statue is used in place of a real horse, according to Hinduism Today with a million participants in Chitrakoot, Madhya Pradesh on April 16 to 20, 1994. Such modern performances are sattvika Yajnas where the animal is worshipped without killing it, the religious motivation being prayer for overcoming enemies, the facilitation of child welfare and development, and clearance of debt, entirely within the allegorical interpretation of the ritual, and with no actual sacrifice of any animal.

Reception

The earliest recorded criticism of the ritual comes from the Cārvāka, an atheistic school of Indian philosophy that assumed various forms of philosophical skepticism and religious indifference. A quotation of the Cārvāka from Madhavacharya's Sarva-Darsana-Sangraha states: "The three authors of the Vedas were buffoons, knaves, and demons. All the well-known formulae of the pandits, jarphari, turphari, etc. and all the obscene rites for the queen commanded in Ashvamedha, these were invented by buffoons, and so all the various kinds of presents to the priests, while the eating of flesh was similarly commanded by night-prowling demons."

According to some writers, ashvamedha is a forbidden rite for Kali Yuga, the current age.

This part of the ritual offended the Dalit reformer and framer of the Indian constitution B. R. Ambedkar and is frequently mentioned in his writings as an example of the perceived degradation of Brahmanical culture.

Scholar Manohar L. Varadpande, praised the ritual as "social occasions of great magnitude". Rick F. Talbott writes that "Mircea Eliade treated the Ashvamedha as a rite having a cosmogonic structure which both regenerated the entire cosmos and reestablished every social order during its performance."

See also

• Ashva – Horses in Hinduism
• October Horse – Animal sacrifice to Mars
• Cruelty to animals – Negligent or abusive action against animals by humans

References

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