Book Reviewed: Asvamedha: The Rite and its Logic, by Subhash Kak
This is a brilliantly written book by the Louisiana State University Professor (Emeritus) Subash Kak, a well-respected academic and a Hindu scholar. Asvamedha is described as one of the most significant rituals in the Hindu Scriptures and many commentators are intrigued by the scale of the sacrificial rites and the meaning associated with its performance. Asvamedha is a sacrifice (horse sacrifice) that is a renewal of the Sun at the New Year, and also the renewal of king's rule as well. At the spiritual level, it is a celebration to be reconnected to the "inner" Sun. It is also a celebration of the social harmony achieved by the transcendence of the fundamental conflicts between various sources of power. It is called the king of all sacrifices in Satapata Brahmana (SB. 13.2.2.1). The 13th kanda is exclusively related to the performance of this ritual.
In this book, the author suggests that the ritual is symbolic in nature and not literal. Of all the animals conceived within a body, the horse is considered as time, the Asvamedha is the most mystical and powerful celebration, because it delves into the mystery of time and immortality. In Rig-Veda 1.163.2, horse is said to symbolic of the Sun, and Tittiriya Samhita 7.5.25., says that the whole universe is the sacrificial horse. Similar meaning is conveyed in Vajasaneyi Samhita 11.12. The confusion arise when the oldest text like Rig-Veda is treated as ritualistic document and yajnas are treated as a literal performance of a rite, but Rig-Veda is more than a text of rituals. It has four languages; the metaphysics of existence (sat) and non-existence (asat), which evolved into a very mature form in the Upanishads; images and sacrifices (yajna), which illustrate the human's efforts to connect with nature that comprises both materialistic and non-materialistic forms. Hence the Vedic sacrifices operate through the languages of asat, sat, transformation and embodied vision, says the author. The Vedic ritual is also related to the ongoing struggle between devas and asuras, where devas represents the cognitive system and the asuras the material nature of the body (Chandogya Upanishad 8.-14; Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.1). The Aitareya Brahmana 1.14 speaks of how the devas thought of kingship in order to defeat the asuras with whom the conflict was not going well for devas. The consecration of a king was done by Rajasuya sacrifice and its further rejuvenation by the Vajapeya and Asvamedha sacrifices. The latter is performed by a consecrated king assisted by his four wives. The Vedic ritual was performed at an altar and the design is based astronomical numbers related to solar and lunar years. The Asvamedha altar consists of numbers; 21 stakes, 260 wild animals and 337 domestic animals. The enactment of this sacrifice brings fame and regenerates power for the king. When Indra lost his vital powers, it was restored by a sacrifice (Satapata Brahmana 12.8.1.1).
The author cautions that we must not read the descriptions of ritual literally The sacrifice engages the performer to bridge the disconnected spirit with body and transforms into a higher being. This is stressed clearly in Isa Upanishad 14. The Vedic scholars and historians have suggested that the original sacrifice was real and the symbolic enactment came later. In Satapata Brahmana 6.2.1.39, prior to king Syaparna Sayakayana, sacrifice of different animals were in practice, but later it was limited only to goat (aja) (Satapata Brahmana 3.2.2.9). The book has diagrams of various sacrifices and the author show how they are related to each other by numbers. This is a very interesting little book to read and I highly recommend.
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