Rāma’s Aśvamedha Yajña (Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa)

Rāma performs the Aśvamedha yajña in Ayodhyā. This is the great horse-yajña (fire ritual) of a sovereign king. It declares his rule over the whole earth, and it is also a homa (fire offering) that cleans away sorrow from the kingdom and the world. In the Lava Kuśa Kāṇḍa of the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Rāma performs it to clear the sorrow that had gathered from the Śambūka episode, Sītā’s exile, and the departure of his three mothers by yogāgni (the fire of yoga). Because Sītā is in the forest, a gold image of Sītā takes the queen’s place beside Rāma. After the horse is let loose, it enters the forest near Vālmīki Maharshi’s āśrama (hermitage), where Lava and Kuśa bind it. This begins the chain of battles that ends in the meeting of father and sons.

Rāma’s resolve

Rāma performed the funeral rites of the three queens and gave generous dāna (gifts) in their names. Then he thought about the weight of recent events: the untimely death he had been called to put right in the Śambūka episode, the deep sorrow of Sītā’s exile, and the departure of his mothers. He decided that the time had come to perform the Aśvamedha. It is the sovereign horse-yajña, and it cleans the kingdom and the world of gathered distress.

He went to the gurukula (the guru’s house) with his brothers and bowed down before Vasishṭha. When the guru had blessed him, Rāma told him he meant to perform the Aśvamedha, to bring well-being to his subjects and joy to the people of Ayodhyā. He asked for his guru’s leave and guidance.

Vasishṭha’s ruling on Sītā’s absence

Vasishṭha was delighted. He called the Aśvamedha a most auspicious undertaking. He at once gave practical charge to Bharata and told him to begin the preparations.

Vasishṭha then raised one important point before the yajña began. A gṛhastha (householder) must perform the yajña sāpatnika, that is, with his wife seated at his left side. The śāstra says that without the dharmapatnī (lawful wife) at the yajña-vedi (altar), the rites bear no fruit. Sītā was in the forest, so this was a difficulty in dharma.

Vasishṭha spoke with Nārada, the Sanakādi munis and the other ṛshis who had gathered. They all agreed that a svarṇa-pratimā (a gold image) of Sītā could take the queen’s place at the altar. A very beautiful gold image was ordered. Skilled śilpins (artisans) made it, it was decked with jewels, and it was made holy with mantras. When it was finished, it looked so alive and so bright that everyone who saw it thought they were looking at Sītā herself. It was set up at Rāma’s left side on the yajña-pīṭha (seat of the yajña).

Preparations and invitations

Bharata set the whole workings of Ayodhyā’s rule to the task. Maṇḍapas (halls) were raised, tents were pitched, roads were mended, houses were decorated and festival banners were hoisted. Skilled artisans worked day and night and built the makhashālā (the yajña pavilion) in a design of great beauty. Chariots, horses, elephants and foot soldiers were drawn up.

By Vasishṭha’s order, invitations went out in every direction:

• The dikpālas (guardians of the directions), among them Indra, Yama, Varuṇa and Kubera, were invited.
• All the kings and rulers of the earth were called.
• The vānara hosts of Kishkindhā came from the south: Nala, Nīla, Mainda, Dvivida and Sugrīva.
• The rākshasa allies, Vibhīshaṇa and his court, came from Laṅkā.
• Indra, Candra, Brahmā and the deva-gaṇas (hosts of devas) came down in their vimānas (flying chariots).
• Vyāsa, Nārada, Bhṛgu, Parāśara, Agastya, Āṅgiras and many other groups of ṛshis came.
• The Sanakādi siddhas and the Saptarshis came.
• Communities of brāhmaṇas from all over the earth came.
• Janaka himself came from Mithilā with his queen, with Śatānanda and with his whole royal company, and was received with great honour.

Ayodhyā was full of guests. The joy of the city at that gathering of kings, ṛshis and devas was beyond all telling.

The yajña begins

The yajña began in the auspicious Śiśira ṛtu (winter season), in the month of Makara, on a lucky day and at a blessed lagna (rising sign). Rāma came to the makhashālā and sat on a golden deer-skin, the proper seat for the yajña-kartā (the one who performs the yajña). Two thousand brāhmaṇas, learned in the Vedas and the vedāṅgas, pure and skilled, took their places and began the Vedic chanting.

By Vasishṭha’s order, Lakshmaṇa went to the hayaśālā (horse stable) and brought out the yajña-aśva (sacrificial horse). It was a white horse with dark ears, decked with peacock feathers, silk and jewelled ornaments. It had all the lucky marks (sarva-lakshaṇa) of a perfect sacrificial horse, and it shone like the horse that draws the chariot of Bhagavān Sūrya. Sixty thousand armed warriors went with it, with ten thousand battle-tested soldiers and a full body of horsemen, to the sound of festive music.

Rāma performed the abhisheka (anointing) and pūjā of the horse. He fixed a letter of challenge to its forehead:

“This is the sacrificial horse of the sovereign of Ayodhyā. He is mighty and without an equal, and in courage he is the heir of Indra. Let those who are strong enough come forward, bind this horse and face us in battle. All others are invited to join us as friends and allies.”

Then the śaṅkha (conch), the bherī and the paṭaha (drums) sounded in all directions, and the horse was let loose to go round the earth in dik-vijaya (conquest of the directions).

The horse’s journey and capture

The horse wandered through many kingdoms and completed its round. It then came into the forest near the āśrama of Vālmīki Maharshi. Lava and Kuśa were playing in the forest. They saw the horse and read the challenge on its forehead. Trained in every martial art, they were full of confidence as muni-kumāras (sons of munis). They bound the horse and challenged the forces that came with it. This began the chain of battles told in the account of the battles of Lava and Kuśa over the Aśvamedha.

Completion of the yajña

After Rāma was reunited with Lava and Kuśa and Sītā had entered the earth (bhū-praveśa), Rāma returned to Ayodhyā with his sons and completed the Aśvamedha in full. The yajña was finished śāstrokta-prakāra, in complete agreement with the rules laid down, to the satisfaction of all the assembled ṛshis. Vasishṭha, Viśvāmitra, Śatānanda and all the munis were honoured with pūjā. All the kings and ṛshis were given dāna: cows, land, gold, gems and fine clothes. The whole company of guests was sent home with great respect and love.

The glory of Rāma’s Aśvamedha is such that it could not be told in full even if the great mountain of black eye-paint were ground into ink, the seven seas were made into inkwells, Ādiśesha held the pen, and Brahmā and Maheśvara wrote on the surface of the earth for a whole kalpa.

Sources

• Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Lava Kuśa Kāṇḍa, Chapter 7 (Avadheśuni Aśvamedha Yajña Prayatnam)
• Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Lava Kuśa Kāṇḍa, Chapters 7 and 11