INTRODUCTION IX 



In the Vedic period, the sacrificial horse was first slain sacri- 

 ficially {i.e., by severing the head at one blow), and then divided in 

 portions, part being eaten by the attendant priests and part being 

 offered as a burnt-offering. In this age the object of the sacrifice 

 was to obtain wealth, prosperity, and male offspring. 



The Puranas, written several hundred years after the Vedas, 

 describe the asvamedha as a sacrifice of the highest order. Per- 

 formed a hundred times, it elevated the sacrificer to the throne of 

 Svarga, Indra^s dominion, deposing even the King of the Gods. 

 There are many legends describing Indra^s terror at beholding the 

 successive performance of the asvamedha by terrestrial Kings, and 

 his efforts to frustrate them. 



In the succeeding epic period, i.e., after 1200 B.C., this sacrifice 

 was made by kings to demonstrate their claim to supremacy over 

 neighbouring chiefs. 



It was then a royal sacrifice, princes alone officiating ; every 

 office, even that of gate-keeper, was held by a royalty. The sacri- 

 ficial horse was liberated and placed under the (charge of some noted 

 warrior, preferably a brother, certainly a near relative of the sacri- 

 ficer, and wandered at will for the space of a year, closely followed 

 by the attendant warrior. 



Territory traversed by the horse was proclaimed tributary to 

 the sacrificer. A ruler disputing the claim of paramount sove- 

 reignty had to capture the horse and prevent it traversing his 

 dominions. He had then to meet the warrior in charge of the 

 horse in single combat, and, if defeated, the horse was released to 

 continue its journey. At the expiration of the year, the horse was 

 brought back to the king who had released it, and was sacrificed 

 by him with many rites and much ceremony. 



Of the kings who performed the sacrifice once, the most noted 

 are Eama of the Solar race, and Yudhisthira, half-brother of 

 Nakula, of the Lunar race. 



Castes op the Horse. — By the Hindus, horses are divided into 

 the four great castes. Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra. 



The horse that buries its muzzle up to the eyes when drinking 

 is a Brahman; that which paws the ground while drinking is a 

 Kshatriya; that which sucks in the water is a Vaishya; and that 

 which shies at water and backs from it is a Shudra. 



The horse whose sweat has a scent of sandal-wood oil is a 



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