Aśva Śānti in the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa

A śānti is a ritual for peace and protection that calms harmful influences. Aśva means horse. Chapter 44 of the Dvitīya Khaṇḍa (second part) of the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa teaches the Aśva-śānti, the ritual of divine protection for the horses of a king.

It comes right after the Aśva-cikitsā, the text’s manual on the medical care of horses (Chapters 40–43). Having taught the medicine, the teacher Pushkara then teaches the śānti ritual, which pleased the devas who watch over horses and removed harmful influences from the royal stables.

The Devas Who Watch Over Horses

In the Vedas and Purāṇas, horses have several divine protectors:

  • The Aśvinī-kumāras (the Aśvins): the divine twin physicians, who are themselves horse-headed. They are the foremost devas called on for the welfare of horses
  • Sūrya: the Sun, who drives across the sky on horses. Horses are sacred to Sūrya and share his fiery energy
  • Indra: the warrior king of the devas, whose chariot is drawn by horses. He is called on for the strength and battle-readiness of the cavalry
  • Varuṇa: called on for the horses’ health, especially for skin and breathing problems

The Ritual

When it is done: The Aśva-śānti is performed:

  • At the start of the war season, before the cavalry goes out
  • When horses fall ill even after medical treatment
  • When a new horse is brought into the royal stables for the first time, as a śānti of welcome
  • Every year on the Aśvinī nakshatra (lunar mansion), the nakshatra of the Aśvins

Where: In the royal stable (aśvaśālā), or, for a formal version, before a fire in the open air with the horses tied nearby.

Steps:

  1. The space is purified; the stable floor is cleaned and smeared with cow-dung
  2. A sacred fire is lit
  3. The Aśvins are invoked with the Aśvinī-sūkta and the classic Ṛg Veda hymns to the divine physicians
  4. Offerings of barley (a grain especially linked with horses), sesame and ghee are made into the fire
  5. Protective herbs (vacā, guggulu and a fragrant wood) are burned in the fire, and the smoke passes over the horses
  6. The officiating purohita puts a small mark of red sandal paste on each horse’s forehead
  7. The horses are fed a special mixture: cooked barley with jaggery, sesame and a small amount of the purified medicinal herbs used in the śānti homa (fire offering)

For a newly bought horse: The horse is bathed in water in which special herbs have been soaked, and the śānti is performed for this horse alone. Its sādhin (its personal groom) is also present and receives a special blessing.

The Aśvins as Healers and Protectors

The story of Cyavana and Mada (Chapter 50) shows the Aśvins’ power as divine physicians. That story stands in the background whenever the Aśva-śānti is performed. The same divine physicians who healed Cyavana Ṛshi and won the right to a share of soma are called on here to protect the royal horses. So the śānti is a direct appeal to proven divine healers, not just a symbolic act.

Sources

  • Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Uttarārdha (Dvitīya Khaṇḍa), Chapter 44