Aśvamedha Yāga of Rāma

The Yāga Khaṇḍa of the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa tells of the whole Aśvamedha Yāga of Bhagavān Rāma. Rāma did it at the urging of Kumbhodara, after the great tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage) told in the Yātrā Khaṇḍa. The yāga is the crowning act of Rāma’s rule. The account follows the release of the Śyāmakarṇa horse and its year-long round of the earth. It tells of the great gathering of kings and munis at Ayodhyā, the daily rites, the avabṛtha snāna (the closing bath) on Rāma Navamī, and the unmatched episode of Vasishṭha asking Sītā as his dakshiṇā (gift). It ends with Rāma’s proclamations at the close of the yāga.

The decision and the preparations (Sarga 1)

Bhagavān Rāma had come back from the great tīrtha-yātrā that he had made at Kumbhodara’s word. He called his court together and said to his guru Vasishṭha: “Following the word of Kumbhodara Muni I have finished the tīrtha-yātrā. Now, following that same word, I shall perform the Aśvamedha Yāga.” Vasishṭha asked the astrologers and set an auspicious muhūrta (time) seven days ahead. He gave Lakshmaṇa full instructions for the preparations.

The yajña ground was made ready at Rāma-tīrtha on the bank of the Sarayū. Brāhmaṇas ploughed it with golden ploughs, cleared it of stones, and sprinkled it with sandal water. The whole land ten yojanas around Ayodhyā was prepared in the same way. The yajña halls were decorated with plantain stems, flower garlands and fruits. Twenty-four tall golden yajña posts, set with pearls, were raised. The yajña pit, the kuṇḍa, was painted with a svastika, an eight-petalled lotus, and the emblems of Bhagavān Vishṇu (conch, discus, club and lotus), in white, red, black, blue and yellow stone colours. All Ayodhyā was hung with flags, banners, and close-strung garlands of pearls, corals and gems.

Sixteen ṛtviks (yajña priests) were chosen. Brahmā himself served as the Brahmā-ṛtvik. Śakti, Vasishṭha’s own son and a master of all ritual knowledge, was invited as the Adhvaryu. Viśvāmitra, the son of Gādhi, recited the Ṛgveda. Śatānanda, the guru of Janaka, was the Udgātā who sang the Sāmaveda. Yama took the role of Śama. Kaśyapa, Atri, Bharadvāja and other maharshis were invited for all the other rites. Hundreds of other munis were also invited one by one.

(Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Yāga Khaṇḍa, Chapter 1)

The sacred Śyāmakarṇa horse

The horse Śyāmakarṇa was chosen for the yajña. His body was white, and his ears, feet and tail were black. He was dressed in gold ornaments, garlands of pearls, gems and bells. His mane was tied with golden chains. On his forehead a gold plate was fixed, with these words:

“This is the yajña horse of Rāma, king of Kosala. All kings are to release it. If anyone has the strength, let them seize it. Otherwise, with their treasuries, armies, families, citizens and subjects, let them follow the horse to Ayodhyā, where they may contest the yāga in great battle.”

The horse was let go at an auspicious time. Śatrughna and Sumantra went as its guardians, leading an army of ten thousand. Rāma himself, with Sītā, took the brahmacarya vow. He wore deerskin, held kuśa grass, ate only the food laid down, and lived in the yajña enclosure on the Sarayū bank, surrounded by munis.

(Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Yāga Khaṇḍa, Chapter 1)

The unusual rule of giving (Sarga 2)

On the opening day Rāma gave fine garments to everyone, from Vasishṭha and Arundhatī down to the Caṇḍālas. Then he called Lakshmaṇa and gave an extraordinary order. For as long as the yāga lasted, no request from anyone was to be refused. This covered brāhmaṇas, householders, forest-dwellers, ascetics, their daughters, students, dependants, citizens, villagers, women and servants. Even if someone asked for Kāmadhenu, for Sītā herself, the Kaustubha gem, the Cintāmaṇi, the Pushpaka vimāna, the kingdom or the treasury, it was to be given at once, without asking Rāma. “Any refusal that reaches my ears,” said Rāma, “is the same as cutting off my head.”

(Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Yāga Khaṇḍa, Chapter 2)

The horse goes round the earth (Sarga 3)

Śyāmakarṇa’s route covered all four directions over six months.

East. The horse went from Brahmāvarta and reached the Gaṅgā, which was in full flood so that no boat could cross. Śatrughna prayed: “If Rāma is truly great, give me a way across.” The Gaṅgā parted and showed a sandy path, and the horse crossed in an instant. The king of Magadha, of the Kīṭaka country, came out with his whole army to meet the horse. He read the words on the gold plate and submitted completely. He sent all his treasury, family, citizens, ministers and subjects to follow Śatrughna to the yāga, and he followed the horse himself. The horse went on through Aṅga, Vaṅga, Kaliṅga and other eastern kingdoms and reached the eastern sea. No king seized the horse.

South. The horse crossed the Godāvarī and went through Āndhra and Draviḍa. It passed through Kāñcī, crossed the Kāverī, went through Coḷa and reached Setubandha (Rāmeśvara). Then it turned west.

West. It passed through Tāmraparṇī, Kerala, Gokarṇa, the Kṛshṇā valley, Karnāṭaka, Koṅkaṇa, the region of the Bhīmā river, Mahārāshṭra, Vidarbha, Ābhīra, Mālava, the Mahānadī and Bhāmatī rivers, Gurjara, Prabhāsa (Somanātha), Mathurā, Saurāshṭra, Maru (the desert), Sārasvata, Matsya, Sūrasena and Pāñcāla. Everywhere the horse was met with submission.

North. It went to Kurukshetra, Kuru-jāṅgala, Kaikaya, Kāśmīra, Gauḍa, Śāka, Yavana and Tāmra. When the horse came to the Karatoyanadī, it stopped. The tradition holds that crossing the Karatoyanadī, the Gaṇḍakī by arms, and the Karmanāśā brings adharma. The horse went round by Haridvāra and travelled along the Gaṅgā into the Himālaya. It passed Badarikāśrama and was honoured by the people of Kālāpa-grāma. It visited Mānasa Sarovara, Hariharakshetra and Mithilā. It came back through Āryāvarta, Kāśī, the Triveṇī-saṅgama, Antarvedī, Śṛṅgaverapura, Tamasā, Naimishāraṇya, the Gomatī and Brahmāvarta. After six months it returned to Sāketa.

As the horse came near, Rāma told Lakshmaṇa to ride out with elephants and full honours to receive it. The arrival drew an immense crowd, so great that families were parted for days. Rāma ordered a great hall built on the bank of the Tamasā, with drums sounding in every direction: “All separated persons report to the hall on the Tamasā bank.” The system of finding lost people worked, and the kings settled into the guest quarters given to them.

(Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Yāga Khaṇḍa, Chapter 3)

The gathering and Kumbhodara’s return (Sarga 4)

All the great munis of the age came to the yajña. They were Kaśyapa, Atri, Bharadvāja, Viśvāmitra, Gautama, Mārkaṇḍeya, Mṛkaṇḍu, Cyavana, Mudgala, Asita, Paraśurāma, Deva, Vyāsa, Kṛtu, Vibhāṇḍaka, Nārada, Tumburu, Gālava, Bhṛgu, Śukra, Bṛhaspati, Dhaumya, Kaṇva, Vālmīki, Durvāsa, Śaunaka, Sūta, Jābāli, Agastya, Dadhīci and many others with their students. Kāmadhenu was set up in the kitchen and fed all with the six kinds of divine food. The Cintāmaṇi and the Kaustubha fulfilled every wish of Rāma and Sītā, one for each.

Bhagavān Śiva himself came to the yāga, with Pārvatī, Skanda and all the devas including Indra. Rāma had invited them all. Lakshmaṇa received them with elephants and full honours. Rāma walked five steps to meet Śiva, bowed to the ground, and embraced him. Śiva said: “I know your māyā. Through you Brahmā was born. Through Brahmā came Marīci, through Marīci came Kaśyapa, and through Kaśyapa came Sūrya, who is your pautrasya pautra (grandson’s grandson). You were born in that Sūrya-vaṃśa, though it is you who gave birth to Sūrya in the first place.”

At this moment Kumbhodara arrived. The servants were alarmed: “This is the one who caused all the trouble. The tīrtha-yātrā and this whole yāga came out of his challenge!” But Rāma walked forward five steps, bowed fully before the muni, took his hand and led him to a golden throne. Kumbhodara put down his daṇḍa (staff) and kamaṇḍalu (water pot) and bowed before Rāma, who lifted him up and embraced him. Kumbhodara then explained: “I challenged you not for my own sake but to make the world understand. If even Rāma, ruler of the seven dvīpas, had to make a tīrtha-yātrā, then who among us does not have to? Everywhere you went, the people there had the darśana of Sītā and Rāma. Your Rāmeśvara liṅgas and your Rāma-tīrthas will be praised as long as the earth lasts.” He then recited the Rāma Ashṭottara Śata Nāma stotra, the 108 names of Bhagavān Rāma.

(Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Yāga Khaṇḍa, Chapter 4)

The daily routine during the yāga (Sarga 6)

The horse Śyāmakarṇa was offered in the yajña in strict keeping with the Vedic vidhi (rule). Its limbs were cut apart and offered in ghee. The smoke of the long homa filled the Caitra sky so fully that the blue sky could not be seen.

Rāma’s daily routine during the yāga was fixed. He rose early with Sītā. He bowed to Śiva, Brahmā, the devas, Kausalyā and the queens, Kāmadhenu, the Cintāmaṇi on his chest, the Kaustubha at his throat, the Pushpaka, the devas in the yajña enclosure, and Yajñapurusha. Then he went to Rāma-tīrtha for his bath. When he had finished his daily rites and his Śaṅkara pūjā, he took Kāmadhenu’s divine food in jewelled vessels from Sītā’s hands and shared it out.

Feeding at the yāga followed strict order. In the morning, first all the ṛtviks, then the munis, then the devas, who ate straight from Agni without anyone between. After them came the wives of the kings, the vidyādharas, yakshas, gandharvas, kinnaras, vānaras, kshatriyas, servants, court performers, and last of all the bards, the vandis and māgadhas. In the women’s hall the devī-women ate first, then the muni-wives, the kshatriya women, the vaiśya women, and the śūdra women. Sītā, Ūrmilā, Māṇḍavī and Śrutakīrti served them all and urged them to eat more. Vānaras and rākshasas were fed separately. Rāma himself ate only after everyone else. Sītā ate last, with her mothers-in-law. Not one person went hungry. The text says the number fed each day was equal to the grains of sand, the drops of water and the stars in the sky.

In the fourth prahara (the evening watch), Rāma held an assembly with stories, kīrtanas (devotional songs), talks on the śāstras, and performances. At midnight he sent everyone else to sleep, and slept on the ground with Sītā on a silk mat.

(Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Yāga Khaṇḍa, Chapter 6)

The Dhvajāropaṇa Vrata (Sarga 7)

On Caitra Śukla Pratipadā the kings who had gathered performed the Dhvajāropaṇa Vrata in the yajña hall. Vishṇudāsa asked about this rite, and Rāmadāsa told the whole vidhi and its great phalaśruti (account of its fruits). The flag-raising vrata is to be done once a year by all kings, either in the yajña hall or in a temple of Vishṇu. The text says it destroys all pāpa (sin) for as long as the cloth waves in the wind, and keeps the one who does it near Hari for thousands of yugas.

(Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Yāga Khaṇḍa, Chapter 7)

The avabṛtha snāna and Vasishṭha’s unusual dakshiṇā (Sarga 8)

On Rāma Navamī, Caitra Śukla Navamī, the birthday of Bhagavān Rāma, Vasishṭha ordered the avabṛtha snāna. A grand procession set out for Rāma-tīrtha on the Sarayū, with elephants, banners, drums, horses and chariots, and the holy waters from many tīrthas that Śatrughna had gathered. The crowd grew too large for the road. Rāma ordered that all be placed on the Pushpaka. At Sītā’s request, the women were placed in the women’s part of the Pushpaka. At Rāma-tīrtha, Rāma and Sītā stepped down from their chariot and took the avabṛtha snāna in the Sarayū. The ṛtviks poured the abhisheka (ritual bathing) with mantras. All who were present bathed and were freed from pāpa.

After the bath Rāma gave generous dakshiṇā: cows adorned with gold, lands, horses and elephants. Then he got ready to give Kāmadhenu to Vasishṭha. But Vasishṭha thought quietly: “I already have Nandinī, Kāmadhenu’s own daughter. The gift of Kāmadhenu would be pointless. I will do something that has never been done. I will ask for Sītā, to show the world Rāma’s great generosity.” He said: “Do not give me Kāmadhenu. I will not be satisfied with her. If you truly wish to give me something, give me Sītā, adorned with ornaments.”

The crowd was stunned. Some thought Vasishṭha had lost his senses. Some thought he was testing Rāma. Others waited to see Rāma’s courage. Rāma smiled, pointed to Sītā, took her left hand gently, and gave her to Vasishṭha before the assembly, reciting the strī-dāna mantra. All living and moving things were struck with wonder. This kind of deha-dāna, the gift of a person, had never been done or seen before.

Vasishṭha accepted. He said to Sītā: “Dear girl, stand behind me. Rāma has given you to me. I look on you as a daughter.” Sītā, her heart confused and tears in her eyes, took her place behind Vasishṭha in distress. Rāma then also gave Kāmadhenu, and Vasishṭha accepted that as well.

Then Vasishṭha told his purpose: “Rāma, I asked for Sītā only to show the world your great generosity. Now weigh her in gold with eight sets of ornaments. Give me the gold. That is my true dakshiṇā. Take Sītā back.” Vasishṭha then named the seven things that Rāma must never give as dāna: Kāmadhenu, the Cintāmaṇi, Sītā, the Kaustubha gem, the Pushpaka vimāna, the city of Ayodhyā, and the kingdom of Ayodhyā. To give any of these would break his guru’s ājñā (command) and bring a heavy dosha (fault).

Sītā was weighed in gold with eight sets of jewelled ornaments (ashṭavāra-alaṅkāra). Vasishṭha took the gold and gave Sītā back to Rāma. Flowers rained down. Divine women came down from their vimānas and gave their own ornaments to Sītā, and they dressed her more richly than before. All the people rejoiced. Sītā stood by Rāma with a soft smile. Rāma then gave large final gifts to all the ṛtviks, the leaders of the assembly, the kings, his brothers, his ministers and his friends, and all of them shone with jewels.

(Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Yāga Khaṇḍa, Chapter 8)

Rāma’s proclamations at the end of the yāga (Sarga 9)

After the avabṛtha snāna, Bhagavān Śiva, Brahmā and all the devas appeared before Rāma in their divine glory and praised him. Śiva asked four varas (boons). The first was that Rāma give darśana every year at the tīrthas. The second was that the Rāmeśvara liṅga be first among all liṅgas on earth. The third was that Ayodhyā be first among all cities. The fourth was that the Sarayū be first among all rivers. Rāma granted all four and added proclamations of his own.

“Until now Mārgaśīrsha has been called the first month. From this day, by my word, Caitra shall be the first month of the year. I was born in Caitra, and the avabṛtha snāna of this yāga also fell in Caitra.” He said that all acts of puṇya (merit) done in Caitra, such as dāna, homa, snāna and smaraṇa (remembering), give a koṭi (ten million) times the usual fruit, and more still when done in Ayodhyā.

“Among all cities, Ayodhyā, my own city, is the greatest. One day in Ayodhyā gives the puṇya of sixty years elsewhere. By my word, Ayodhyā is one hundred times greater than Kāśī.” He ordered all the devas to live in the outer waters, the Sarayū, during the month of Caitra. He declared that a Caitra snāna at Rāma-tīrtha on the Sarayū gives the puṇya of all these together: an Aśvamedha yāga, a Gomedha yāga, a Somayāga, a bath at Kurukshetra at a solar eclipse, the Māgha snāna at Prayāga, the Kārttika pañca-Gaṅgā snāna at Kāśī, and the Vaiśākha snāna at Dvārakā.

Pārvatī then turned to Sītā and asked her to grant a vara for the good of all women. Sītā proclaimed: “From Caitra Śukla Tṛtīyā to Vaiśākha Śukla Tṛtīyā, one full month, shall be called the Akshaya Māsa, the month that never runs out. In this time, women who take the Sītalā-Gaurī snāna at Rāma-tīrtha will gain saubhāgya (marital good fortune) and the growth of sons and grandsons. My own tīrtha shall always be to the left of Rāma-tīrtha, and it shall be called Sītā-tīrtha.”

All the devas then gave Rāma great gifts. Kubera gave a golden throne seat, the vīrāsana. Varuṇa gave a white umbrella as bright as the moon. Vāyu gave chāmaras (fly-whisks). Dharma gave a garland that brings fame. Indra gave a supreme crown. Yama gave a daṇḍa. Brahmā gave a divine kavaca (armour). Bhāratī (Sarasvatī) gave a necklace. Rudra gave the ten-moon sword, the daśa-candra khaḍga. Ambikā gave the hundred-moon sword, the śata-candra. Soma gave horses of amṛta. Tvashṭā gave a beautiful chariot. Agni gave the Yāgajava bow, like the bow of Bhagavān Śiva. Sūrya gave bright arrows. Earth gave sandals. The Sky sent a shower of flowers. The Ocean gave its most holy conch. Rivers and mountains gave open paths. The ṛshis gave true blessings. The kings gave chariots, horses, elephants and more.

Rāma went back to Ayodhyā in a grand royal procession and entered his palace. The crowned kings honoured him, and the jewels in their crowns lit his lotus feet. Bhagavān Śiva went back to Kailāsa, Brahmā to Satyaloka, and Indra and the devas to svarga, all of them glad. All the munis and ṛtviks also went back to their homes.

The text briefly says that Rāma performed ten Aśvamedha yāgas over twenty years. At the tenth, Vasishṭha gave all four directions to the ṛtviks as dakshiṇā, and the ṛtviks gave them back to Rāma so that he could go on ruling.

(Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Yāga Khaṇḍa, Chapter 9)

Sources

• Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Yāga Khaṇḍa, Sargas 1 to 4 and 6 to 9