Rajasuya on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Rajasuya () is a
Rajasuya () is a śrauta
Åšrauta (Sanskrit: शà¥à¤°à¥Œà¤¤) is a Sanskrit word that means "belonging to Å›ruti", that is, anything based on the Vedas of Hinduism. It is an adjective and prefix for texts, ceremonies or person associated with Å›ruti. The term, for example ...
ritual of the Vedic religion. It is ceremony that marks a consecration of a king. According to the , it refers to a great sacrifice performed by a Chakravarti – universal monarch, in which the tributary princes may also take part, at the time of his coronation, as a mark of his undisputed sovereignty.
Description
The rajasuya is associated with the consecration of a king and is prescribed as a ritual to establish a king's sovereignty. It is described in the Taittiriya corpus, including Apastamba '' Śrauta Sutra'' 18.8–25.22. It involves '' soma'' pressing, a chariot drive, the king shooting arrows from his bow, and a symbolic "cattle raid": The newly anointed king seizes cattle belonging to his relative, and then gives part of his property to that relative. Also included is a game of throwing dice with the Adhvaryu priest in which the king wins a cow, by which the king is enthroned and the cosmos is regenerated. There is a revealing of the tale of Shunahshepa, a boy who was nearly sacrificed toVaruna
Varuna (; , ) is a Hindu god. He is one of the earliest deities in pantheon, whose role underwent a significant transformation from the Vedic to the Puranic periods. In the early Vedic era, Varuna is seen as the god-sovereign, ruling the sky ...
on behalf of the sonless king Harishchandra
Harishchandra () is a legendary king of the Solar dynasty, who appears in several legends in texts such as the ''Aitareya Brahmana'', ''Mahabharata'', the ''Markandeya Purana'', and the ''Devi-Bhagavata Purana, Devi Bhagavata Purana''. The most ...
, which hints at a rejected archaic practice of human sacrifice
Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease deity, gods, a human ruler, public or jurisdictional demands for justice by capital punishment, an authoritative/prie ...
.
The Shatapatha Brahmana
The Shatapatha Brahmana (, , abbreviated to 'SB') is a commentary on the Yajurveda, Åšukla Yajurveda. It is attributed to the Vedic sage Yajnavalkya. Described as the most complete, systematic, and important of the Brahmanas (commentaries on the ...
states that the ''rajasuya'' was the means by which a ''Kshatriya'' may become a king, and is not suitable for Brahmanas.
Historically, the rajasuya was performed by the Indo-Aryan kings, which led to the expansion of their kingdoms during the Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
. The kings of Tamilakam
Tamilakam () also known as ancient Tamil country as was the geographical region inhabited by the ancient Tamil people, covering the southernmost region of the Indian subcontinent. Tamilakam covered today's Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, La ...
performed the rajasuya, attended by monarchs of Lanka
Lanka (; ) is the name given in Hindu epics to the island fortress capital of the legendary Rakshasa king Ravana in the epics of the ''Ramayana'' and the ''Mahabharata''. The fortress was situated on a plateau between three mountain peaks kn ...
; Kharavela, the king of Kalinga, is described to have performed the rajasuya, despite being a Jain; and the Satavahana
The Satavahanas (; ''SÄdavÄhana'' or ''SÄtavÄhana'', IAST: ), also referred to as the Andhras (also ''Andhra-bhá¹›tyas'' or ''Andhra-jatiyas'') in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty. Most modern scholars believe that the Satavaha ...
kings performed the ceremony. The sacrifice was performed by kings throughout the subcontinent; records of its performance in South India
South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
at least date until the time of the Vijayanagara Empire
The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hinduism, Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belongi ...
.
See also
*Ashvamedha
The Ashvamedha () was a horse sacrifice ritual followed by the Åšrauta tradition of Vedic religion. It was used by ancient Indian kings to prove their imperial sovereignty: a horse accompanied by the king's warriors would be released to wander ...
* RÄjyÄbhiá¹£eka
References
External links
* {{refend Sacrifice Mahabharata Hindu rituals Yajna Vedic customs