अश्वमेधaśvamedha

अश्वमेध (aśvamedha) is a Sanskrit word meaning the horse-sacrifice, a descendant of Bharata, the actual or emblematic sacrifice of a horse, the sacrifice of a horse, a hundred such sacrifices granting sovereignty over heaven, a horse sacrifice. Its 12 recorded definitions are grouped into 5 contexts, among them The Horse-Sacrifice Ritual, Personal Name (e.g., of a Prince), Instances and Significance of the Sacrifice in Puranas.

Etymology: E. अश्व and मेध sacrifice; this sacrifice is one of the highest order, and performed a hundred times, entitles the sacrificer to the dominion of Svarga or paradise: it appears to have been originally typical; the horse, and other animals being simply bound during the performance of certain ceremonies; the actual sacrifice is an introduction of a later period. See As. R. Vol. viii. p. 442, COLEBROOKE on the Vedas
Definitions: 12

View Declension Tables , 48 forms

Meanings by context

The Horse-Sacrifice Ritual

7 definitions

the horse-sacrifice

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

The actual or emblematic sacrifice of a horse.

— Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. The sacrifice of a horse. 2. A hundred such sacrifices granting sovereignty over heaven.

— Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary

a horse sacrifice

— Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary

The actual or emblematic sacrifice of a horse.

— Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary

horse-sacrifice

— Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary

horse-sacrifice

— Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary

Personal Name (e.g., of a Prince)

2 definitions

a descendant of Bharata

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

a prince mentioned in a hymn of the Rigveda

— The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects

Instances and Significance of the Sacrifice in Puranas

1 definition

The horse sacrifice, noted in mythology as performed by numerous kings and sages, serving as a remedy for the killing of a Brahmin, and yielding spiritual benefits equal to visiting holy places.

अश्वमेध (aśvamedha) [Printed book page 1-127]
Aśvamedha — Thrice performed by Yudhiṣṭhira.¹ One

hundred performed by Bali;² of Ambarīṣa where Vasiṣṭha

and Gautama were present.³ Thrice performed by Parīkṣit.⁴

Performed by Aṅga when gods did not respond to his call.⁵

A hundred were performed by Pṛthu. But in the last

Indra stole away the horse.⁶ Performed by Indra.⁷ Per-

formed by Kṛṣṇa at Dvārakā. The sacrificial horse was sent

out with a number of warriors to watch its course. All
Page1-128+ 40

kings including the Pāṇḍavas attended the sacrifice. In the

course of the sacrifice a Brāhmaṇa complained of the death

of his children immediately after birth. At this Arjuna

(s.v.) offered to give succour and recovered them with

Kṛṣṇa's aid, from Nārāyaṇa's abode. Nārāyaṇa said that he

took the children as a means to see Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna in

their human form. The Avabhṛta of the sacrifice was cele-

brated in the Yamunā.⁸ A remedy for brahmicide.⁹ Per-

formed by Śūdra kings in Kali age;¹⁰ of other kings;¹¹ of

Ikṣvāku, of Dakṣa, of Suyajña, of Nala, of Śatānīka of Purū-

ravas;¹² equal to going to Gayā, bath in the Prayāga and

Ganges, koṭihoma, grahabali, etc.¹³ 100 of them performed

by Somadatta;¹⁴ as efficacious as reading the Viṣṇu Purāṇa;¹⁵

performed by other sages.¹⁶
[Footnote: 1) Bhā. I. 8. 6; 10. 2. [1]; 12. 34.]

[Footnote: 2) Ib. VIII. 15. 34.]

[Footnote: 3) Ib.

IX. 4. 22.]

[Footnote: 4) Ib. I. 16. 3.]

[Footnote: 5) Ib. IV. 13. 25.]

[Footnote: 6) Ib. IV. 16. 24; 19, 1.]

[Footnote: 7) Ib. VI. 13. 18-20; Br. II. 30. 10; M. 143. 6-26.]

[Footnote: 8) Bhā. X. 89. 22-64.]

[Footnote: 9) Ib. VI. 13. 6-9.]

[Footnote: 10) Br. II.

31. 67; M. 144. 43.]

[Footnote: 11) Br. II. 34. 24; III. 5. 7; 7.

268; 11. 13-16; 64. 17; 68. 26; 70. 24 and 27; 71. 119; 72. 28;

IV. 12. 31.]

[Footnote: 12) M. 12. 10; 12. 15; 44, 23 and 64; 24. 10; Vā. 105.

10. 32; 111. 17, 51; 112. 31-2.]

[Footnote: 13) M. 22. 6; 28. 6; 53. 15; 58.

54; 106. 29; 183. 71 and 80.]

[Footnote: 14) Vi. IV. 1. 56.]

[Footnote: 15) Vi. VI. 8. 28 & 34.]

[Footnote: 16) Vā. 20. 16; 32. 52; 30. 291; 50. 221; 57. 52; 60. 23; 67. 50, 53-8;

71. 77; 75. 60, 75; 99. 456; 104. 84; Bhā. IX. 22. 39.]
[ID=1014]

— The Purana Index

Patronymic of a Prince

1 definition

a patronymic of an unnamed prince in the Rigveda

— The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects

Title of a Textual Division (e.g., Parvan)

1 definition

the horse-sacrifice

— Index to the Names in the Mahabharata

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Definitions on this page come from 10 works: Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Index to the Names in the Mahabharata, Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary, Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899), Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary, The Purana Index, The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects, Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon.