# राजसूय (rājasūya)

Canonical page: https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/rajasuya

राजसूय (rājasūya) is a Sanskrit word meaning a great sacrifice performed at the coronation of a king, a lotus flower, a kind of rice, a mountain, relating to the raja sacrifice ceremony, a grand sacrifice performed by a universal monarch. Its 16 recorded definitions are grouped into 8 contexts, among them Royal Sacrifice / Consecration Ceremony, A Kind of Rice, A Lotus Flower.

- **Etymology:** E. राज a king, (by him,) and षू to be produced, to be effected, aff. क्यप्; or राज the moon, for the moon plant, of which the acid juice is drank at the ceremony, and सु to bring forth, the same aff., deriv. irr — E. rāja a king, (by him,) and ṣū to be produced, to be effected, aff. kyap; or rāja the moon, for the moon plant, of which the acid juice is drank at the ceremony, and su to bring forth, the same aff., deriv. irr
- **SLP1:** `rAjasUya`  **IAST:** rājasūya  **Devanagari:** राजसूय
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajasuya
- **Declensions:** 48 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/rajasuya/declensions.md

## Meanings by context

### Royal Sacrifice / Consecration Ceremony (9 definitions)
- a great sacrifice performed at the coronation of a king  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H3) [Printed book page 874,2] राज (rāja) — सूय (—sūya) m. a great sacrifice performed at the coronation of a k° (by himself and his tributary princes, e.g. the sacrifice at the inauguration of Yudhi-ṣṭhira, described in Mahābhārata (Title) ii ), AV. &c. &c. [ ID=176709 ]
- 1. A grand sacrifice performed by a universal monarch. 2. A lotus. 3. A mountain. 4. A sort of rice.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > राज (rāja) सूय (rājasūya) [Printed book page 702 ] राज (rāja) सूय (rājasūya) n. ( - यं (-yaṃ) ) 1 A sacrifice performed only by a universal monarch, attended by his tributary princes; as in the case of YUDHIṢṬHIRA, and others. 2 A lotus. 3 A mountain. 4 A sort of rice. E. राज (rāja) a king, (by him,) and षू (ṣū) to be produced, to be effected, aff. क्यप् (kyap); or राज (rāja) the moon, for the moon plant, of which the acid juice is drank at the ceremony, and सु (su) to bring forth, the same aff., deriv. irr. [ ID=32182 ]
- 1. A royal sacrifice performed by a universal monarch attended by tributary princes. 2. A lotus. 3. A mountain. 4. A sort of rice.  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > राजसूय (rājasūya) [Printed book page 627-b ] राज - सूय (rāja-sūya) ( यं ) ((yaṃ)) 1. n. A sacrifice performed only by a universal monarch attended with his tribu- Page628-a+ 38 tary princes; a lotus; a mountain; a sort of rice. [ ID=31749 ]
- a royal sacrifice performed by a sovereign at coronation to confirm supremacy  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > राजसूय (rājasūya) [Printed book page 609-04 ] राजन् - सूय (rājan-sūya) m.n. a great sacrifice performed by a supreme sovereign at the time of his coronation to confirm his sovereignity, येनेष्टं राजसूय (rājasūya) ेन स सम्राट् (yeneṣṭaṃ rājasūyena sa samrāṭ) Am. ii.8. [ ID=32016 ]
- 1. A major sacrifice performed by a universal monarch attended by tributary princes. 2. A lotus. 3. A mountain. 4. A sort of rice.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > राज (rāja) सूय (rājasūya) [Printed book page 602-a ] राज (rāja) सूय (rājasūya) n. ( - यं (-yaṃ) ) 1. A sacrifice performed only by an universal monarch, attended by his tributary princes; as in the case of YUDHISHṬHIRA, and others. 2. A lotus. 3. A mountain. 4. A sort of rice. E. राज (rāja) a king, (by him,) and षू (ṣū) to be produced, to be effected, aff. क्यप्; (kyap;) or राज (rāja) the moon, for the moon-plant of which the acid-juice is drank at the ceremony, and सु (su) to bring forth, the same aff., deriv. irr. [ ID=33505 ]
- A royal sacrifice performed by a universal monarch.  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > राजसूय (rājasūya) [Printed book page 0766-b ] राजसूय (rājasūya) rājasūya, i. e. rājan-su + ya, m. A sacrifice performed by an universal monarch, attended by his tributary princes, Indr. 1, 15. [ ID=12057 ]
- a great sacrifice at a king's consecration  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > राजसूय (rājasūya) [Printed book page 447 ] राजसूय (rājasūya) m. n. a great sacrifice at a king's consecration. [ ID=26854 ]
- A royal consecration sacrifice performed by kings  
  *The Purana Index*
  > राजसूय (rājasūya) [Printed book page 3-067 ] Rājasūya (I) — the conqueror of cardinal points was fit to perform this: Yudhiṣṭhīra on this, to Kṛṣṇa: Done by Soma who conquered the three worlds; 1 Yudhiṣṭhira's desire to be a Pārameṣṭhī. So Ṛtviks were sent for, including Bhīṣma, Vidura. Even Śūdras were invited. After the sacrifice, on the suggestion of Sahadeva, the first honour was given to Kṛṣṇa. Śiśupāla's protest and vilification of Kṛṣṇa who had his head cut off. In the sacrifice each brother was assigned specific functions — Duryodhana in charge of treasury, Bhīma cooking, Nakula the supply of provisions, etc. The avabhṛta bath at Gangā accompanied by divine music. Every visitor duly honoured, returned back. Jealousy of Duryodhana at the success of the sacrifice. 2 The consecration ceremony of a king done by Pṛthu, Vāli and others. 3 Page3-068+ 34 [ Footnote: 1) Bhā. X. 71. 2[1]; 72-3; IX. 14. 4; Vā. 90. 22.] [ Footnote: 2) Bhā. VII. 1. 13;; X. 70. 41; Chh. 74-75.] [ Footnote: 3) Br. II. 36. 113; III. 7. 268; 8. 25; 63. 116; 72. 28; Vā. 62. 95; 70. 21.] [ ID=11581 ]
- The ceremony of the royal consecration.  
  *The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects*
  > राजसूय (rājasūya) [Printed book page 2-219 ] Rāja-sūya is the name in the Atharvaveda 1 and the later literature 2 of the ceremony of the ‘royal consecration.’ The rite is described at great length in the Sūtras, 3 but its main features are clearly outlined in the Brāhmaṇas, 4 while the verses used in the ceremony are preserved in the Saṃhitās of the Yajurveda. 5 Besides much mere priestly elaboration, the ritual contains traces of popular ceremonial. For example, the king is clothed in the ceremonial garments of his rank, and provided with bow and arrow as emblems of sovereignty. He is formally anointed; he performs a mimic cow raid against a relative of his; 6 or engages in a sham fight with a Rājanya. 7 A game of dice is played in which he is made to be the victim; 8 he symbolically ascends the quarters of the sky as an indication of his universal rule; and steps on a tiger skin, thus gaining the strength and the pre-eminence of the tiger. Page2-220+ 47 A list of the consecrated kings is given in the Aitareya Brāh- maṇa, 9 where the royal inauguration is called the ‘great unction’ ( mahābhiṣeka ) connected with Indra. It corresponds generally with a list of Aśvamedhins, ‘performers of the horse sacrifice,’ given in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 10 and the Śāṅkhā- yana Śrauta Sūtra. 11 [ Footnote: 1) iv. 8, 1; xi. 7, 7.] [ Footnote: 2) Taittirīya Saṃhitā, v. 6, 2, 1; Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, vii. 15, 8; Sata- patha Brāhmaṇa, v. 1, 1, 12, etc.] [ Footnote: 3) See Weber, Über die Königsweihe, den Rājasūya; Hillebrandt, Rituallitteratur, 144-147; Oldenberg, Religion des Veda, 472, 491. The relation of the Śunaḥ- śepa episode formed part of the ritual. That this points to human sacrifice having once formed part of the ritual of the Rājasūya as supposed by Hille- brandt, loc. cit.; Weber, 47; and Olden- berg, 366, n. 1, seems very doubtful. Cf. Keith, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1907, 844, 845.] [ Footnote: 4) Especially Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, v. 2, 3, 1 et seq. See also Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā, iv. 3, 1 et seq.; Taittirīya Saṃhitā, i. 8, 1, 1 et seq. ] [ Footnote: 5) See Taittirīya Saṃhitā, i. 8; Kāṭhaka Saṃhitā, xv; Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā, ii. 6; Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā, x.] [ Footnote: 6) Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, v. 4, 3, 1 et seq. ] [ Footnote: 7) Cf. Taittirīya Saṃhitā, i. 8, 15 with commentary; Eggeling, Sacred Books of the East, 41, 100, n. 1.] [ Footnote: 8) See 2. Akṣa (p. 3)] [ Footnote: 9) viii. 21-23. Cf. Weber, Episches im vedischen Ritual, 8.] [ Footnote: 10) xiii. 5, 4.] [ Footnote: 11) xvi. 9. Cf. Eggeling, Sacred Books of the East, 41, xxiv, xxv.] [ ID=2677 ]

### A Kind of Rice (1 definition)
- a kind of rice  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a kind of rice [ ID=176712 ]

### A Lotus Flower (1 definition)
- a lotus flower  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > राज (rāja) — सूय (—sūya) n. (only L. ) a lotus-flower [ ID=176711 ]

### A Mountain (1 definition)
- a mountain  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a mountain [ ID=176713 ]

### Adjectival: Relating to the Sacrifice (1 definition)
- relating to the raja sacrifice ceremony  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > राज (rāja) — सूय (—sūya) mfn. relating &c. to the R° -sacrifice ceremony ( e.g. ° यो मन्त्रः (°yo mantraḥ), a Mantra recited at the R° 's c° ), Pāṇini (Author) iv, 3, 66, Vārtt. 5, Pat. [ ID=176714 ]

### Metaphorical: Head of the Veda (1 definition)
- the head of the Veda  
  *The Purana Index*
  > [Printed book page 3-068 ] Rājasūya (II) — the head of the Veda. Vā. 71. 77; 88. 118. Ib. 104. 84; 112. 63. [ ID=11582 ]

### Musical Term (Gāndhāra Grāmika) (1 definition)
- the fifth gandhara gramika  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Rājasūya (III) — the fifth gāndhāra grāmika. Vā. 86. 42. [ ID=11583 ]

### Name of Literary Works (1 definition)
- Name of various works, especially the Shatapatha Brahmana in the Kanvashakha  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of various works. ( esp. of Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa (Title) vii, in the Kāṇvaśākhā) [ ID=176710 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary; 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, University of Cologne.

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