Aryans seemed to have specialised in performing sacrifices, involving thousands of animals. A horse sacrifice (Asva mEtha) is believed to cleanse sins of Kings. After killing the sacrificial horse, its fat is thrown into the ceremonial fire, resultant vapors-smoke is smelt.
1-14-33 Sanskrit Verse
Bala Kanda
Sarga 14
Kausalyaa tam hayam
tatra paricarya samantataha
krupaan`aihi vis`as`aasaheenam
tribhihi paramayaa mudaa.
CONTEXT
Dasaratha was performing a horse sacrifice to cleanse his sins, before commencing Putra Kamesht`hi sacrifice to beget children. As a part of the sacrifice, Dasaratha's first queen Kausalya, stabbed the sacrificial horse three times with a golden knife.
ENGLISH GIST
Kausalya circumambulated the horse and stabbed it with a knife three times, with great pleasure (parama mudam).
BLOGGER'S VIEWS
*Why stab with 'great pleasure'?
*Why circumambulate?
*Why ask a woman to do such a dirty ritual?
*Dasaratha could have done it!
Added on Dec. 7, 2015. Reply to Shri Jolly.
Even if the queens have pierced the sacrificed horse (according to Shri Jolly it is already dead), still what a shameful thing it will be both for the King, priests, and the Queens!!! (To be continued. सशेष. ఇంకా ఉంది).
2 comments:
kausalyaa tam hayam tatra paricarya sama.ntataH |
kR^ipaaNaiH vishashaasaH enam tribhiH paramayaa mudaa || 1-14-33
With great delight coming on her Queen Kausalya reverently made circumambulations to the horse, and symbolically killed the horse with three knives. [1-14-33]
Here Kausalya did not butcher the horse as queens do not butcher animals in rituals, but the horse is already sacrificed. It is a symbolical act of queens to pierce with three golden knives like needles. The scripture says that all the eligible wives of the performer of ritual have to pierce that way. sauvarõŸbhi s¨cŸbhi× patnayo× aþvasya asipath˜n kalayanti - þruti / scripture. So all the three queens have performed that symbolic act by piercing that horse, which is already dead, with golden needle-like knives.
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