Aśvaratha
Aśvaratha · aśva-ratha, “the horse chariot”
Grammar: masculine noun; a compound of aśva (horse) and ratha (chariot).
Meaning: a chariot yoked with horses; here the chariot given in dāna (a sacred gift).
In the scriptures: Śrī Kṛshṇa tells of the Gajaratha-Aśvaratha-dāna, the chief dāna for kings, which Śukrācārya taught Bali, king of the daityas. A second chariot is yoked with two horses of good marks, adorned, with saddle and reins. The brāhmaṇa is seated in it and worshipped. The giver walks round the chariot and gives it with a mantra that calls it yoked with horses that are the Vedas, of the form of the Trayī, of the nature of the three guṇas, carrying one happily on the hardest paths. The chariot is Bhagavān Sūrya himself in form, the horses are the Vedas, and the brāhmaṇa in it is Aruṇa in form. One who gives the Aśvaratha by this rule, free of all pāpa (sin) and disease, dwells for a hundred manvantaras in Svargaloka, on a vimāna shining like Bhagavān Sūrya. When that puṇya is spent, he is born on earth as a dhārmika king, with sons and grandsons, long-lived and devoted to serving guests (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 180).
Related terms: Dāna · Ratha · Gajaratha
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 180