Daśāśvamedha (Gautamī)
Daśāśvamedha · daśa-aśvamedha, “the ten aśvamedhas”
Daśāśvamedha has other meanings too: see all meanings of Daśāśvamedha.
Daśāśvamedha, also called Daśāśvamedhika Tīrtha, is a tīrtha on the bank of the Gautamī where King Bhauvana, by the grace of his guru Kaśyapa and of the Gautamī, performed a single aśvamedha and gained the fruit of ten. Brahmā tells Nārada its account in the Gautamī Māhātmya of the Brahma Purāṇa, and he himself takes part in it, sending the king to the Gautamī. Merely hearing the name Daśāśvamedha gives the puṇya (merit) of an aśvamedha, and a bath there gives the fruit of ten.
King Bhauvana
Viśvarūpa, glorious and mighty, was the son of Viśvakarman. Pramati was the son of Viśvarūpa, and the lordly Bhauvana was the son of Pramati. Bhauvana ruled the whole earth, and his purohita was Kaśyapa, master of every branch of learning.
The ten aśvamedhas fail
Bhauvana said to Kaśyapa: “I wish to perform ten aśvamedhas at once. Where shall I perform the yajña?” Kaśyapa said: “There are Devayajanas, sacred grounds where great brāhmaṇas have performed great yajñas.” The purohita began the ten yajñas together, with many ṛshis as ṛtvijas (officiating priests). But he passed over the Devayajana and began them in another place, so faults and obstacles overcame him and the yajñas could not be completed. The king, troubled, asked: “Is it a fault of place, of time, mine or yours, that the ten aśvamedhas are not complete?”
Saṃvarta and Brahmā
The grieving king went with Kaśyapa to Saṃvarta, the elder brother of Bṛhaspati, and said: “Ten aśvamedhas must be performed at once. Tell us the place and the guru, that all ten may be completed.” Saṃvarta meditated and said: “Go to Brahmā. He will tell you the guru and the place.”
Brahmā says: “Bhauvana came to me with Kaśyapa and asked me of the guru and the place. I said to them: ‘Go to the Gautamī. That place is most meritorious for yajñas. This Kaśyapa alone is your guru; he is a master of the Vedas. By the grace of this guru and of the Gautamī, with a single aśvamedha and the holy bath there, you will gain the fruit of ten aśvamedhas.'” The king went to the bank of the Gautamī with Kaśyapa and took dīkshā (consecration) for the aśvamedha.
The gift of the Earth
The aśvamedha, the lord of yajñas, was performed and completed, and the king honoured the brāhmaṇas, the ṛtvijas and the priests of the assembly. Then he made ready to give the whole Earth to Kaśyapa as dakshiṇā (the priest’s gift). A voice without a body said: “O king, you have given everything. Give up the wish to give the Earth with her mountains, forests and parks. Give food, which yields great fruit. There is nothing as meritorious as the gift of food in the three worlds, above all on the bank of the Gaṅgā, given with great śraddhā (faith). You are fulfilled. Do not worry.”
Still Bhauvana wished to give the Earth away. Then Bhūmi, the Earth, spoke to him again and again: “O son of Viśvakarman, do not give me away. If anyone goes to the bank of the Gautamī and gives a morsel of food, it is as if I had been given whole. Why then do you give me? I shall sink into the waters.” Bhauvana was afraid and asked: “What then should be given?” Bhūmi said: “Sesame, cows, money, grain: whatever is given on the bank of the Gautamī is everlasting in its fruit. A morsel of food given on the bank of the Gaṅgā equals the gift of the whole of me.” Bhauvana agreed, and gave food to the brāhmaṇas on a great scale.
The name and the phala
Ever since, people have known that place as Daśāśvamedhika Tīrtha.
- Merely hearing the name Daśāśvamedha gives the puṇya of an aśvamedha.
- A bath there gives the fruit of ten aśvamedhas.
- By the grace of the guru and the Gautamī, one aśvamedha there, with the bath, gives the fruit of ten.
- Gifts of sesame, cows, money and grain on the bank of the Gautamī are everlasting in their fruit, and a morsel of food given there equals the gift of the whole Earth.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 13
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 13