Aśvamedha and Putrakāmeshṭi Yajña

Daśaratha Mahārāja, the king of Ayodhyā, had no sons. To change this he performed two yajñas (fire rituals): the great Aśvamedha, and the Putrakāmeshṭi, a special yajña for the birth of sons. Through these yajñas Bhagavān Vishṇu came into the world as Śrī Rāma and his three brothers. The yajñas were held on the north bank of the Sarayū river at Ayodhyā. The ṛshi Ṛśyaśṛṅga led them, with the blessing of Brahmā and all the devas.

Daśaratha’s longing for sons

Daśaratha ruled Ayodhyā with perfect dharma, and he was as mighty as Indra. But he had no children, and this sorrow weighed on him. A king without sons cannot perform the śrāddha rites that care for his ancestors, and he cannot carry on the noble Ikshvāku line.

He called together his purohitas (family priests) Vasishṭha, Vāmadeva, Jābāli and Suyajña, and his eight chief ministers, and asked for their advice. They told him to perform the Aśvamedha mahāyajña (great yajña), with Ṛśyaśṛṅga as the chief ṛtvik (priest of the yajña). The Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa tells this in Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapters 8 and 9.

Bringing Ṛśyaśṛṅga to Ayodhyā

Ṛśyaśṛṅga was living in the kingdom of Romapāda in the land of Aṅga. His coming there had already ended a great drought. He had lately married Śāntā, who was Daśaratha’s own daughter, given in adoption to Romapāda. So he was a relative of the king as well as the right ṛshi for this work.

Sumantra, the king’s trusted minister, recalled an old prophecy that only Ṛśyaśṛṅga could perform the yajña that would give Daśaratha sons. Daśaratha himself travelled to the land of Aṅga. He brought Ṛśyaśṛṅga and Śāntā to Ayodhyā with great honour (Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapters 9 to 12).

The Aśvamedha Yajña on Caitra Śukla Pūrṇimā

The Aśvamedha began on Caitra Śukla Pūrṇimā, the full-moon day of the bright half of the month of Caitra. The yajña horse was set free under the care of learned ṛtvijas. For a full year it was allowed to wander as it pleased, guarded by warriors.

On the north bank of the Sarayū, the yajña ground was prepared with great care. The yūpa posts were set up. The vedi (altar platform) was built in the shape of a Garuḍa.

The yajña ran over three main days. The first day had the Catuḥstoma rite, the second the Ukthya, and the third the Atirātra. Daśaratha also performed the Jyotishṭoma, the Āyuryāga, two Atirātras, the Abhijit, the Viśvajit and the Āptoryāma. Great dakshiṇā (gifts to the priests) was given. The four directions of his kingdom were given to the ṛtvijas as a symbol, and then bought back. Everything was done without any break in the Vedic rules (Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapters 12 to 14).

The Putrakāmeshṭi

When the Aśvamedha was finished, Ṛśyaśṛṅga performed the Putrakāmeshṭi, the yajña for the birth of sons. The offerings went into the sacred fire with the right mantras. Then the Yajña Purusha himself rose out of the fire. He was a divine being who carried a golden vessel full of pāyasam (sweet milk-rice), the holy food made in the fire.

The Yajña Purusha spoke to Daśaratha: “O King! The devas are pleased. Take this divine pāyasam and give it to your wives. From it you will have sons as you wish.”

Daśaratha shared the pāyasam among his three queens:

• Half to Kausalyā, the senior queen
• One quarter to Kaikeyī
• One eighth to Sumitrā, and another one eighth to Sumitrā again

The queens ate their shares and conceived. Kausalyā bore Bhagavān Śrī Rāma. Kaikeyī bore Bharata. Sumitrā bore Lakshmaṇa and Śatrughna. They were four portions of Bhagavān Vishṇu, who came down in four forms to destroy Rāvaṇa (Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapters 15 and 16).

The devas pray to Bhagavān Vishṇu

While Daśaratha performed his Aśvamedha, something was also happening among the devas. Rāvaṇa’s unchecked power tormented them, and they gathered before Brahmā to ask for relief. Rāvaṇa was a rākshasa king born in the line of Pulastya. He had received varas (boons) from Brahmā that made him safe from devas, dānavas, gandharvas, yakshas and every divine being. He was tormenting all three worlds. But he had not asked for safety from humans, because he thought them too small to mention. Brahmā saw this and told the devas that Rāvaṇa’s death would come at the hands of a human being.

The devas then went to Bhagavān Vishṇu in his home and prayed that he be born on earth as the son of Daśaratha. Vishṇu was moved by their prayer and by his endless compassion for those in distress, and he agreed. He said he would come down in four forms, as Rāma, Bharata, Lakshmaṇa and Śatrughna, born from Daśaratha’s three queens. He would destroy Rāvaṇa and all the rākshasas, and would live in the human world for eleven thousand years (Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapter 15).

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapters 8 to 17