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The Indian Analyst
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North Indian Inscriptions |
POLITICAL HISTORY therefore have been an event of comparatively rare occurrence.”1 The Baudhāyana-Śrautasūtra (XV. 1.1) also says that the king, who is desirous of Aśvamēdha must be a conqueror and (ruler)
of all land (Aśvamēdhēna yakshyamāṇō bhavati rājā vijitī sārvabaumaḥ). This is further corroborated
by the Āpastamba-Śrautasūtra (XX. 1.1), which says: rājā sārvabhaumō=śvamēdhēna yajēta, “the
king who is (ruler) of all land may perform Aśvamēdha.” It will thus be seen that originally an
Aśvamēdha sacrifice was considered worthy of celebration by a sārvabhauma king only. Things
were, however, changing, even in the (Śrauta) Sūtra period. For the Āpastamba-Śrautasūtra just
quoted is followed immediately by apy=asārvabhaumaḥ, “Even (a king) who is not (ruler) of
all land (may perform it).” Aśvamēdha was not thus the be-all and the end-all of a universal
ruler only, as it doubtless was to start with. Its performance must thus have come in later
times to be associated with a variety of purposes. One of these was certainly putraprāpti, ‘attainment of a son’, and the well-known instance of it is the Aśvamēdha celebrated by Daśaratha,
king of Kōsala. At the very beginning of the Rāmāyaṇa, Daśaratha is made to declare this his
intention with the words putr-ārthaṁ hayamēdhēna yakshyām=īti matir=mama, infront of Vaśishṭha,
Ṛishyaśṛiṅga and others. And it was done, and the expected fruition also obtained.2 Another
object with which the sacrifice was performed is pointed to by stanza 4 of Act I of the Mṛichchhakaṭika, where Śūdraka, the reputed author of the drama, is represented to have performed
the Aśvamēdha after abdicating his throne in favour of his son, and thereby apparently to have
lived for one hundred years and ten days before he cremated himself in a sacred fire.3 A third
end in view is indicated by the Aśvamēdha celebrated by Yudhishṭhira, the account of which
constitutes one whole parvan of the Mahābhārata called the Āśvamēdhika-parvan. Yudhishṭhira
had already performed the Rājasūya for attaining to the rank of Sārvabhauma. Nevertheless,
after regaining the kingdom from Duryōdhana who had wrested it from him, he performs the
Aśvamēdha, with the express object, we are told, of washing off “the sin committed in consequence of the slaughter of kinsmen” (jñāti-vadhyā-kṛitaṁ pāpaṁ).4 Elsewhere in the same parvan,
that is, in the Āśvamēdhika-parvan, the Aśvamēdha is described as ‘purificative of all sins’.5 This
leaves no doubt as to the main purpose of celebrating an Aśvamēdha.
Now, there can be no doubt as to the motive with which Samudragupta performed his
Aśvamēdha. We have already remarked that his Allahabad pillar inscription makes no mention
of it at all. But the same record leaves no doubt whatever that when the praśasti was composed, 1 SBE., Vol. XIII, Intro., p. xv.
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