Rajasuya

Rajasuya (Imperial Sacrifice or the king's inauguration sacrifice) is a Śrauta ritual of the Vedic religion. It is a consecration of a king.[1]

King Yudhishthira, a character in the Mahabharata, performs the Rajasuya Sacrifice

Broad outline

The Rajasuya is associated with the consecration of a king[1] is prescribed as a means to establish a king's sovereignty.[2] It is described in the Taittiriya corpus, including Apastamba Srauta Sutra 18.8–25.22.[1] It involves soma pressing, a chariot drive, the king shooting arrows from his bow, and a brief "cattle raid".[1] There is a telling of the tale of Shunahshepa, a boy who was nearly sacrificed to Varuna on behalf of the sonless king Harishchandra.[1] Also included is a game of throwing dice by which the king is enthroned and the cosmos is regenerated.[1]

References
  1. Knipe 2015, p. 237.
  2. "Importance of yagna". The Hindu. 2018-06-27. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2019-06-01.

Sources
  • Knipe, David M. (2015), Vedic Voices: Intimate Narratives of a Living Andhra Tradition, Oxford: Oxford University Press
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