Hiraṇyāśvaratha

Hiraṇyāśvaratha · hiraṇya-aśva-ratha, “the gold chariot with horses”

Grammar: masculine noun; a compound of hiraṇya (gold), aśva (horse) and ratha (chariot).

Meaning: a chariot of gold with four horses, given as a mahādāna. The same gift is called Suvarṇaturagaratha.

In the scriptures: Bhagavān Śrī Kṛshṇa tells Mahārāja Yudhishṭhira that this is the best of gifts, giver of puṇya and destroyer of mahāpātakas. When a puṇya parva comes, the courtyard of the house is smeared with cow-dung, a black antelope skin is spread on a vedī, and the gold chariot is set on a heap of sesame on it.

  • It has four horses, four wheels and a place to sit.
  • Brahmā is seated at the front with the reins.
  • It is adorned with a kalaśa of indranīla maṇi and a dhvaja.
  • On it are images of the eight Lokapālas with petals of padmarāga maṇi, decorated with silk.
  • It has four kalaśas full of water, eighteen grains and a canopy above.
  • It is furnished with garlands of flowers, sugarcane and fruit, and with a purusha.
  • The two Aśvinīkumāras, mounted on horses, are set as its wheel-guards.

Each person utters the name of the devatā of his bhakti, performs the adhivāsana and worships the chariot. When the puṇya time comes the yajamāna is bathed through the brāhmaṇas, worships the devatās, and wears white cloth and a garland of white flowers. Taking flowers in the añjali, he goes round the chariot three times in pradakshiṇā and gives it with the mantra. The mantra bows again and again to the destroyer of pāpas, Viśvātmā, yoked with horses that are the Vedas, ruler of all tejas, Sūrya in form. It asks for śānti by this gift, and asks that the heart, its mass of pāpa destroyed, may be steady in dharma, for he alone is the sustainer and supreme treasure-house of the eight Vasus, the Ādityas and the Maruts.

The phala: one who gives this chariot, destroyer of the fear of bhava, has his body freed from the mass of pāpa, attains Śiva-sāyujya and dwells long with Brahmā. One who reads or hears the rule never goes to naraka.

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 187

Related terms: Hiraṇyāśva · Indranīla · Mahādāna

Sources

  • Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 187