A Description Of Ashwamedha Yaga
Dasharatha's Ashwamedha Yaga to beget children is about to start. After 11 months of roaming around, the horse is brought back. The preparations are completed in the month of Phalguna, and on Phalguna Amavasya, Dasharatha, along with the family, retinue, and the purohitas, entered the yaga vedi on the northern bank of the Sarayu.
The main yaga would start from the next day, Chaitra Shukla Paksha Prathama. Starting from that day, every day for seven days, three homas are performed, adding to a total of 21 homas, and then the puranhuti.
All of Dasharatha's purohitas, led by Rishyasringa, are Veda Paragas.
Who is a Veda Paraga?
Veda Paraga has seen the other shore of the ocean called Veda. He can not only chant the mantra, he knows the deep meaning and purport of each mantra as well.
Valmiki used three terms here to describe how Dasharatha's Ashwamedha Yaga was conducted:
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Yathavidhi
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Yathanyayam
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Shastratah
Yathavidhi means as given in the Veda, particularly the Brahmana grantha.
Yathanyayam means as per Meemamsa Shastra.
Shastra here is the Kalpa Sutra.
The rules and procedures laid out in all these were meticulously followed by the ritwiks, the purohitas. Every single step they ensured that it was as per vidhi, nyaya, and shastra.
Ashwamedha is a Soma Yaga, in which Soma juice is offered.
It started with two ishtis called Pravargya and Upasad.
Pravargya – you may have seen those videos in which a mix of cow's and goat's milk is poured into a hot vessel in the agni kunda and the flames rise up to the ceiling of the yaga vedi.
Upasad is symbolic of the three forts that the Asuras built at the levels of Bhumi, Antariksha, and Akasha, which Tripurari Mahadeva destroyed.
This is a battle strategy and ensures success at all three levels.
It was a battle strategy of the Asuras, but Devas adopted it in the form of this yajna called Upasad.
Both Pravargya and Upasad were performed. These two are repeated all together 12 times.
The main Soma Yaga has three parts:
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Prata Savanam – in the morning
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Madhyandin Savanam – at noon
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Triteeya Savanam – in the evening
The respective Devas are invoked and worshiped before they are given offerings.
You should appreciate the in-depth knowledge of Sage Valmiki, even in the detailed procedures of yajnas.
These are Valmiki's words. Not that he wrote about the life of the Lord in an interesting way. See his authority. He is going to speak about Dharma.
Veda is the source of Dharma.
Unless you know the Veda in depth, how can you talk about Dharma and Adharma?
At present, we have three kinds of scriptures on Dharma:
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Shruti – the Vedic corpus
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Smriti – man-made, based on Vedic principles
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Nibandha – ready references such as Dharma Sindhu, Nirnaya Sindhu
Your level of knowledge depends on what you have seen, what you have learned.
Here, Sage Valmiki is at the level of the Veda itself.
The chanting of mantras was faultless.
Every offering was offered.
Nothing was forgotten.
Nothing was spilled or wasted.
So much care was taken in the conduct of the yaga.
This is about the yaga vedi.
Outside –
The nobles present there, none of them had less than 100 disciples. Such gurus participated in the yaga.
There was not a single person who was hungry or thirsty.
There were mountains of food.
All kinds of people – scholars, workers, soldiers, women, children, sanyasis, healthy, unhealthy – they kept on eating as and when they wanted.
Still Dasharatha was not satisfied.
He kept on saying, 'Give more, give more!'
Not just food, clothes too.
Everybody was praising Dasharatha for his magnanimity.
Brahmins kept on blessing him.
During intervals between the savanas, debates were held between scholars who were eager to display their knowledge.
In the next episode, we will see the concluding part of the Ashwamedha Yaga and also how it was decided to conduct a Putreshti subsequent to this.
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