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The Ashvamedha (Sanskrit: अश्वमेध aśvamedhá; "horse sacrifice") was one of the most important royal rituals of Vedic religion, described in detail in the Yajurveda (YV TS 7. Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is an umbrella term for a wide variety of related religious traditions native to India. Within Hinduism a large number of personalities or 'forms' are worshiped as Murtis. Hinduism comprises numerous Sects or denominations The main divisions in current Hinduism are Shaivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism Hindu mythology is the large body of Mythology related to Hinduism, notably as contained in Sanskrit literature, such as the Sanskrit epics and Hindu philosophy is divided into six Sanskrit ''{{IAST|āstika}}'') schools of thought or darshanas (literally "views" Sankhya The Sanskrit term ( Devanāgarī: धर्म Pali transliteration dhamma) is an Indian spiritual and religious Artha ( Devanagari: अर्थ is a Sanskrit term meaning "purpose cause motive meaning notion" In Indian religions, Moksha ( Sanskrit: sa मोक्ष mokṣa) or Mukti ( Sanskrit: sa मुक्ति literally "release" Karma is a concept in Hinduism which explains Causality through a system where beneficial effects are derived from past beneficial actions Yoga ( Sanskrit: योग, IAST: yóga, joːgə refers to traditional physical and mental disciplines originating in India, to the Bhakti ( Devanāgarī: भक्ति) is a word of Sanskrit origin meaning devotion. Maya ( Sanskrit sa माया māyā) in Indian religions, has multiple meanings This article is about Hinduism. Puja or "pooja" may also refer to certain devotional practices performed by Balmikis Buddhists (see A Hindu temple or Mandir ( Sanskrit: मंदिर is a house of worship for Hindus followers of Hinduism. Literature regarded as central to the Hindu literary tradition was predominantly composed in Sanskrit, Indeed much of the morphology and linguistic "Veda" redirects here For other uses see Veda (disambiguation. The Upanishads ( Devanagari: उपनिषद् IAST: upaniṣad also spelled "Upanisad" are Hindu scriptures that constitute the core teachings The Rāmāyaṇa ( Devanāgarī: sa रामायण is an ancient Sanskrit epic attributed to the Hindu sage ( Maharishi) Valmiki For other meanings see Purana (disambiguation. The Puranas ( Sanskrit: sa पुराण purāṇa, "of ancient times" The following is a bibliography of Hindu scriptures and texts. The percentage of Hindu population of each country was taken from the US State Department's International Religious Freedom Report 2006. These are some of the most noteworthy Gurus and Saints of Hinduism (in alphabetical order A Hinduism is going through a phase of regeneration and reform through the vehicle of several contemporary movements collectively termed as Hindu reform movements. Ayurveda ( Devanāgarī: आयुर्वॆद the 'science of life' is a system of Traditional medicine native to India, and practiced in other The Hindu calendar used in ancient times has undergone many changes in the process of regionalization and today there are several regional Indian Calendars, as This article deals with social and cultural criticism of Hinduism The following is a glossary of terms and concepts in Hinduism. Jyotiṣa ( Sanskrit jyotiṣa, from jyótis- "light heavenly body" also spelled Jyotish and Jyotisha in English Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical Many Indo-European branches show evidence for Horse sacrifice, and comparative mythology suggests that they derive from a PIE ritual. A ritual is a set of actions often thought to have Symbolic value the performance of which is usually prescribed by a Religion or by the Traditions This article discusses the historical religious practices in the Vedic time period see Hinduism and Indian religions for details The Yajurveda ( Sanskrit यजुर्वेदः, a Tatpurusha compound of yajus "sacrificial formula' + veda 1-5, YV VSM 22–25 and the pertaining commentary in the Shatapatha Brahmana ŚBM 13. The Shatapatha Brahmana (sa शतपथ ब्राह्मण śatapatha brāhmaṇa, " Brahmana of one-hundred paths" abbreviated ŚB 1–5). The Rigveda does have descriptions of horse sacrifice, notably in hymns RV 1. The Rigveda ( Sanskrit sa ऋग्वेद ṛgveda, a compound of ṛc "praise verse" and veda "knowledge" The first Mandala ("book" of the Rigveda has 191 hymns 162-163 (which are themselves known as aśvamedha), but does not allude to the full ritual according to the Yajurveda.

Gayatri Pariwar have been organising performances of a modernised version of the sacrifice, not involving actual animal sacrifice, since 1991. Shriram Sharma ( September 20 1911 – June 2 1990) was an Indian Seer, sage a visionary of the New Golden Era and the

The Vedic sacrifice

The Ashvamedha could only be conducted by a king (rājā). For other uses see Raja (disambiguation and Rajah (disambiguation. Its object was the acquisition of power and glory, the sovereignty over neighbouring provinces, and general prosperity of the kingdom.

The horse to be sacrificed must be a stallion, more than 24, but less than 100 years old. The horse ( Equus caballus) is a hoofed ( Ungulate) Mammal, one of eight living species of the family Equidae. The horse is sprinkled with water, and the Adhvaryu and the sacrificer whisper mantras into its ear. Priests of the Vedic religion were officiants of the ''yajna'' service Anyone who should stop the horse is ritually cursed, and a dog is killed symbolic of the punishment for the sinners. The horse is then set loose towards the North-East, to roam around wherever it chooses, for the period of one year (or half a year, according to some commentators). The horse is associated with the Sun, and its yearly course. The Sun (Sol is the Star at the center of the Solar System. If the horse wanders into neighbouring provinces hostile to the sacrificer, they must be subjugated. The wandering horse is attended by a hundred young men, sons of princes or high court officials, charged with guarding the horse from all dangers and inconvenience. During the absence of the horse, an uninterrupted series of ceremonies is performed in the sacrificer's home.

After the return of the horse, more ceremonies are performed. The horse is yoked to a gilded chariot, together with three other horses, and RV 1. The chariot is the earliest and simplest type of Carriage, used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples The Rigveda ( Sanskrit sa ऋग्वेद ṛgveda, a compound of ṛc "praise verse" and veda "knowledge" 6. 1,2 (YV VSM 23. 5,6) is recited. The horse is then driven into water and bathed. After this, it is anointed with ghee by the chief queen and two other royal consorts. Ghee ( Hindi घी ghī, Urdu گھی ghī, Punjabi ਘਿਉ/گھیو ghiu, Kashmiri ग्याव/گیاو The chief queen anoints the fore-quarters, and the others the barrel and the hind-quarters. They also embellish the horse's head, neck, and tail with golden ornaments. The sacrificer offers the horse the remains of the night's oblation of grain.

After this, the horse, a hornless he-goat, a wild ox (go-mrga, Bos gavaeus) are bound to sacrificial stakes near the fire, and seventeen other animals are attached to the horse. The domestic goat ( Capra aegagrus hircus) is a subspecies of goat Domesticated from the Wild goat of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe The gaur (ˈɡaʊɚ ( Bos gaurus, previously Bibos gauris) is a large dark-coated bovine animal of South Asia and Southeast Asia. A great number of animals, both tame and wild, are tied to other stakes, according to a commentator 609 in total (YV VSM 24 consists of an exact enumeration).

Then the horse is slaughtered (YV VSM 23. 15, tr. Griffith)

Steed, from thy body, of thyself, sacrifice and accept thyself.

Thy greatness can be gained by none but thee.

The chief queen ritually calls on the king's fellow wives for pity. The queens walk around the dead horse reciting mantras. The chief queen then has to mimic copulation with the dead horse, while the other queens ritually utter obscenities. ^[1]

On the next morning, the priests raise the queen from the place where she has spent the night with the horse. With the Dadhikra verse (RV 4. 39. 6, YV VSM 23. 32), a verse used as a purifier after obscene language.

The three queens with a hundred golden, silver and copper needles indicate the lines on the horse's body along which it will be dissected. The horse is dissected, and its flesh roasted. Various parts are offered to a host of deities and personified concepts with cries of svaha "all-hail". The Ashvastuti or Eulogy of the Horse follows (RV 1. 162, YV VSM 24. 24–45), concluding with:

May this Steed bring us all-sustaining riches, wealth in good kine, good horses, manly offspring

Freedom from sin may Aditi vouchsafe us: the Steed with our oblations gain us lordship!

A coin created by Samudragupta I to commemorate the Ashvamedha ritual. Aditi ( Sanskrit अदिति - limitless) ''a'' not + ''diti'' bound from the verbal root ''da'' to bind unbounded free as a noun infinite and shoreless The tethered horse is depicted on the left; the queen, carrying ritual equipment, is on the right

The priests performing the sacrifice were recompensed with a part of the booty won during the wandering of the horse. According to a commentator, the spoils from the east were given to the Hotar, while the Adhvaryu a maiden (a daughter of the sacrificer) and the sacrificer's fourth wife. Priests of the Vedic religion were officiants of the ''yajna'' service Priests of the Vedic religion were officiants of the ''yajna'' service

The Shatapatha Brahmana emphasizes the royal nature of the Ashvamedha:

Verily, the Asvamedha means royal sway: it is after royal sway that these strive who guard the horse. The Shatapatha Brahmana (sa शतपथ ब्राह्मण śatapatha brāhmaṇa, " Brahmana of one-hundred paths" abbreviated ŚB (ŚBM 13. 1. 6. 3 trans. Eggeling 1900)

It repeatedly states that "the Asvamedha is everything" (ŚBM 13. 4. 2. 22 trans. Eggeling 1900)

Known historical performances

Pusyamitra Sunga is said to have performed the Ashvamedha rite after he toppled Mauryan rule in 185 BC. Pusyamitra Sunga (B ??? R 185-151 BCE D 151 BCE was the founder and first King of the Sunga Dynasty in Northern India The Maurya Empire ( 322 – 185 BCE) ruled by the Mauryan dynasty was a geographically extensive and powerful political and military

A historically documented performance of the Ashvamedha is during the reign of Samudragupta I (d. Samudragupta, ruler of the Gupta Empire (cAD 335 &ndash 380 and successor to Chandragupta I, is considered to be one of the greatest military geniuses in 380), the father of Chandragupta II. Events By Place Roman Empire January / February – Emperor Theodosius I is baptized. Chandragupta II (very often referred to as Vikramaditya or Chandragupta Vikramaditya) was one of the most powerful emperors of the Gupta empire Special coins were minted to commemorate the Ashvamedha and the king took on the title of Maharajadhiraja after successful completion of the sacrifice.

There were a few later performances, one by Raja of Kannauj in the 12th century, unsuccessfully, as Prithviraj Chauhan thwarted his attempt and later married his daughter. For the Indian TV serial with the protagonist of the same name see Dharti Ka Veer Yodha Prithviraj Chauhan. The last known instance seems to be in 1716 CE, by Jai Singh II of Amber, a prince of Jaipur^[2]

Performances in Itihasa

illustration of the Ramayana by Sahib Din, 1652. The situation on his accession When Jai Singh sat on the ancestral throne at Amber he had barely enough resources to pay for the support of 1000 cavalry—this abysmal situation Jaipur ( Hindi: जयपुर also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital of Rajasthan state, India. Kausalya is depicted slaying the horse (left) and lying beside it (right)

Performances of the Ashvamedha feature in the epics Ramayana (1. Indian epic poetry is the Epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent. The Rāmāyaṇa ( Devanāgarī: sa रामायण is an ancient Sanskrit epic attributed to the Hindu sage ( Maharishi) Valmiki 10–15) and Mahabharata.

In the Mahabharata, the sacrifice is performed by Yudhishtira (Book 14), his brothers guarding the horse as it roamed into neighbouring kingdoms. In the great Hindu epic Mahabharata, Yudhisthira ( Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर yudhiṣṭhira) the eldest son of King Arjuna defeats all challengers. Arjuna or Arjun ( Sanskrit: अर्जुन arjuna) is one of the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata, whose name The Mahabharata says that the Ashvamedha as performed by Yudhishtira adhered to the letter of the Vedic prescriptions. After the horse was cut into parts, Draupadi lies beside the slain animal (14. In the Ancient Indian epic Mahābhārata, Krsnā Draupadī (Devanagari कृष्णा द्रौपदी; approx 89).

In the Ramayana, Rama's father Dasharatha performs the Ashvamedha, which is described in the bala kanda (book 1) of the poem. Rama ( IAST: rāma Devanāgarī: राम Khmer: Phreah Ream Thai: Phra Ram Lao: Phra Lam Tagalog: Dasharatha ( Sanskrit: दशरथ IAST Daśaratha, Malay: Dasarata, Thai: Thotsarot) is the father of The Ramayana provides far more detail than the Mahabharata. Again it is stated that the ritual was performed in strict compliance with Vedic prescriptions (1. 14. 10). Dasaratha's chief wife Kausalya circumambulates the horse and ritually pierces its flesh (1. Kaushalya ( Sanskrit: कौशल्या kauśalyā in the Hindu epic Rāmāyaṇa, was the eldest of King Daśaratha 's 14. 33). Then "Queen Kausalya desiring the results of ritual disconcertedly resided one night with that horse that flew away like a bird. " [1-14-34]. ^[3] At the conclusion of the ritual Dasharatha symbolically offers his other wives to the presiding priests, who return them in exchange for expensive gifts (1. 14. 35). ^[4]

The ritual is performed again towards the end of the poem, but in very different circumstances. It figures centrally in the uttara kanda (book 7) where it leads to the final major story in the poem. In this narrative, Rama was married to a single wife, Sita, who at the time was not with him, having been excluded from Rama's capital of Ayodhya. SITA is a multinational Information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the Aviation industry Ayodhya (अयोध्या IAST Ayodhyā) is an ancient city of India, the old capital of Awadh, in the Faizabad district She was therefore represented by a statue for the queen's ceremony (7. x). Sita was living in Valmiki's forest ashram with her twin children by Rama, Lava and Kusha, whose birth was unknown to Rama. Valmiki ( Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि vālmīki) (ca 400 BCE northern India is celebrated as the poet harbinger in Sanskrit literature Lava ( Sanskrit: लव (sometimes Lav) and his twin brother Kusha (or Kush are the children of the Hindu deity Rama and his wife Sita In its wanderings, the horse, accompanied by an army and the monkey-king Hanuman, enters the forest and encounters Lava, who ignores the warning written on the horse's headplate not to hinder its progress. Hanuman (हनुमत् sa-Latn '''Hanumat''' nominative singular sa हनुमान् sa-Latn ''Hanumān'' known also as ' Anjaneya' (son of Anjana is one of the He tethers the horse, and with Kusha challenges the army, which is unable to defeat the brothers. Recognising Rama's sons, Hanuman sends them to Ayodhya where they are reconciled with their father, who also accepts Sita back at court. Sita, however, no longer wishes to live, and is absorbed by the earth. It is never stated whether the sacrifice was completed, but after Sita's death Rama is said to have repeatedly performed the Ashvamedha using the golden statue as a substitute for his wife.

Some historians believe that the bala kanda and uttara kanda were latter interpolations to the authentic form of the Ramayana, due to references to Greek, Parthians and Sakas, dating to no earlier than the 2nd century BCE^[5]

Indo-European comparison

Main article: horse sacrifice

Many Indo-European branches show evidence for horse sacrifice, and comparative mythology suggests that they derive from a PIE ritual. Many Indo-European branches show evidence for Horse sacrifice, and comparative mythology suggests that they derive from a PIE ritual. The existence of similarities among the deities and religious practices of the Indo-European (IE peoples allows glimpses of a common Proto-Indo-European The Ashvamedha is the clearest evidence preserved, but vestiges from Latin and Celtic traditions allow the reconstruction of a few common attributes.

The Gaulish personal name Epomeduos is from *ek'wo-medhu- "horse+mead", while ashvamedha is either from *ek'wo-mad-dho- "horse+drunk" or *ek'wo-mey-dho- "horse+strength". The reconstructed myth involves the coupling of a king with a divine mare which produced the divine twins. The Divine twins are a Mytheme of Proto-Indo-European mythology. Some scholars, including Edgar Polomé, regard the reconstruciton of a PIE ritual as unjustified due to the difference between the attested traditions (EIEC s. Edgar Charles Polomé (1920-2000 was a Belgian Indo-Europeanist and professor of comparative religions and languages at the University of Texas. The Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture is an Encyclopedia of Indo-European studies and the Proto-Indo-Europeans. v. Horse, p. 278).

Vedanta and Puranas

The Brhadaranyaka Upanishad (a mystical appendix to the Shatapatha Brahmana and likely the oldest of the Upanishads) has a creation myth where Mṛtyu "Death" takes the shape of a horse, and includes an identification of the Ashvamedha with the Sun:^[6]

Then he became a horse (ashva), because it swelled (ashvat), and was fit for sacrifice (medhya); and this is why the horse-sacrifice is called Ashva-medha [. The Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upanishad ( Sanskrit: बृहदारण्यक उपनिषद् is one of the older "primary" ( Mukhya The Shatapatha Brahmana (sa शतपथ ब्राह्मण śatapatha brāhmaṇa, " Brahmana of one-hundred paths" abbreviated ŚB A creation myth is a supernatural mytho-[[religion religious]] story or explanation that describes the beginnings of humanity, Earth, life, and . . ] Therefore the sacrificers offered up the purified horse belonging to Prajapati, (as dedicated) to all the deities. In Hinduism, Prajapati ( Sanskrit prajā-pati sa प्रजापति "lord of creatures" is a Hindu deity presiding over procreation Verily the shining sun [ye tapati] is the Asvamedha, and his body is the year; Agni is the sacrificial fire (arka), and these worlds are his bodies. These two are the sacrificial fire and the Asvamedha-sacrifice, and they are again one deity, viz. Death. (BrUp 1. 2. 7. trans. Müller)

The Upanishads describe ascetic austerities as an "inner Ashvamedha", as opposed to the "outer" royal ritual performed in the physical world, in keeping with the general tendency of Vedanta to move away from priestly ritual towards spiritual introspection; verse 6 of the Avadhuta Upanishad has:

"Through extreme devotion [sam-grahaneṣṭi] he [the ascetic] performs ashvamedha within [anta]. The Upanishads ( Devanagari: उपनिषद् IAST: upaniṣad also spelled "Upanisad" are Hindu scriptures that constitute the core teachings Vedanta ( Devanagari: sa वेदान्त Vedānta) is a spiritual tradition explained in the Upanishads that is concerned with the Self-realisation Avadhuta (अवधूत avadhūta) is a term from the Dharmic Religions of India referring to a somewhat eccentric type of mystic That is the greatest sacrifice [mahā-makha] and the greatest meditation [mahā-yoga]. "

According to the Brahma Vaivarta Purana (185. Brahma Vaivarta Purana, ( IAST brahma-vaivarta purāṇa) one of the major eighteen Puranas, a Hindu religious text is divided into four parts 180),^[7] the Ashvamedha is one of five rites forbidden in the Kali Yuga. Kali Yuga ( Devanāgarī: sa कलियुग lit "Age of Kali " "age of vice" is one of the four stages of development that the world goes

Arya Samaj

In the Arya Samaj reform movement of Dayananda Sarasvati, the Ashvamedha is considered an allegory or a ritual to get connected to the "inner Sun" (Prana)^[8] Dayananda in his Introduction to the commentary on the Vedas had to reject the classical commentaries of the Vedas by Sayana, Mahidhara and Uvata as medieval corruptions "opposed to the real meaning of the Vedas" (p. Arya Samaj ( Sanskrit ārya samāja sa आर्य समाज " Noble Society" is a Hindu reform movement founded in India This page is about the founder of the Arya Samaj. For others known by the same name please see Swami Dayananda (disambiguation An allegory (from αλλος allos "other" and el αγορευειν agoreuein "to speak in public" is a figurative mode of representation Prana (प्राण) is the Sanskrit for " Breath " (from the root prā "to fill" cognate to Latin plenus "full" Sāyaṇa ( सायण, with honorific Sāyaṇācārya;died 1387 was an important commentator on the Vedas He flourished under King Bukka I Mahīdhara (the name means "earth-bearing" a mythological mountain in the Mahabharata, and also an epithet of Vishnu) was a 16th century Uvaṭa was a commentator of the Vedas He wrote commentaries of the prātiśākhyas notably on the Rigveda -pratishakhya of Shaunaka. 443) in order to arrive at an entirely symbolic interpretation of the ritual: "An empire is like a horse and the subjects like other inferior animals" (p. 448). Thus, VSM 23. 22, literally "he beats on the vulva (gabha), the penis (pasas) oozes repeatedly (ni-galgaliti) in the receptacle" is interpreted not in terms of the horse and the queen, but in terms of the king and his subjects, "The subjects are called gabha (to be seized), kingly power called pasa (to be penetrated)" (p. 454). This interpretation is apparently based on a verse from Shatapatha Brahmana ^[9].

Following Dayananda, Arya Samaj disputes the very existence of the pre-Vedantic ritual; thus Swami Satya Prakash Saraswati claims that

"the word in the sense of the Horse Sacrifice does not occur in the Samhitas [. Svami Satya Prakash Sarasvati is the editor and author of commentary for a complete edition of the ancient Hindu religious texts the Rig Veda,the Yajur Veda,the . . ] In the terms of cosmic analogy, ashva is the Sun. In respect to the adhyatma paksha, the Prajapati-Agni, or the Purusha, the Creator, is the Ashva; He is the same as the Varuna, the Most Supreme. In Hinduism, Purusha ( Sanskrit puruṣa पुरुष "man Cosmic Man " in Sutra literature also called puṃs In Vedic religion, Varuna or Waruna ( Devanagari:वरुण IAST: varuṇa) is a god of the Sky, of Rain and The word medha stands for homage; it later on became synonymous with oblations in rituology, since oblations are offered, dedicated to the one whom we pay homage. The word deteriorated further when it came to mean 'slaughter' or 'sacrifice'. "^[10]

arguing that the animals listed as sacrificial victims are just as symbolic as the list of human victims listed in the Purushamedha^[11] (which is generally accepted as a purely symbolic sacrifice already in Rigvedic times). Purushamedha (literally translated " Human sacrifice " is a Vedic Yajna (ritual described in the Yajurveda (VS 30&ndash31 Other commentators accept the existence of the sacrifice but reject the notion that the queen lay down with the dead horse. Thus Subhash Kak in a blog posting suggests that the queen lay down with a toy horse rather than with the slaughtered stallion, due to presence of the word Ashvaka, similar to Shivaka meaning "idol or image of Shiva"

All World Gayatri Pariwar since 1991 has organized performances of a "modern version" of the Ashvamedha where a statue is used in place of a real horse, according to Hinduism Today with a million participants in Chitrakoot, Madhya Pradesh on April 16 to 20, 1994. Subhash Kak (सुभाष काक Subhāṣ Kāk) (born March 26, 1947 in Srinagar, Kashmir) is an Indian American Shriram Sharma ( September 20 1911 – June 2 1990) was an Indian Seer, sage a visionary of the New Golden Era and the WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Chitrakuta ( IAST: Chitrakūta Sanskrit: चित्रकूट (also spelt Chitrakoot Madhya Pradesh (abbreviated as MP) ( Hindī: मध्य प्रदेश pronounced, Translation: Middle Province) often ^[12] Such modern performances are sattvika Yajnas where the animal is worshipped without killing it,^[13], the religious motivation being prayer for overcoming enemies, the facilitation of child welfare and development, and clearance of debt,^[14] entirely within the allegorical interpretation of the ritual, and with no actual sacrifice of any animal, nor any sexual connotations. In Hindu philosophy, sattva ( Sanskrit sattva "purity" literally "existence reality" adjectival sāttvika "pure" In Hinduism, Yajna ( Devanagari यज्ञ IAST yajña; also anglicized as Yagna, Yagya or Yadnya

Modern anxieties and propaganda

The mock bestiality and necrophilia involved in the ritual caused considerable consternation among the scholars first editing the Yajurveda. Zoophilia, from the Greek ζῷον ( zṓion, "animal" and φιλία ( philia, "friendship" or "love" is a Paraphilia Necrophilia, also called thanatophilia and necrolagnia, is the sexual attraction to corpses The Yajurveda ( Sanskrit यजुर्वेदः, a Tatpurusha compound of yajus "sacrificial formula' + veda Griffith (1899) omits verses VSM 23. Ralph Thomas Hotchkin Griffith (1826-1906 scholar of Indology, B 20–31 (the ritual obscenities), protesting that they are "not reproducible even in the semi-obscurity of a learned European language" (alluding to other instances where he renders explicit scenes in Latin rather than English). A. B. Keith's 1914 translationalso omits verses. Arthur Berriedale Keith (1879-1944 was a constitutional lawyer and scholar of Sanskrit. ^[1]

This part of the ritual offended the Dalit reformer and framer of the Indian constitution B. R. Ambedkar and is frequently mentioned in his writings as an example of the perceived degradation of Brahmanical culture. Dalit is a self designation for group of people of South Asian descent who were traditionally regarded as untouchables or low Caste. The Constitution of India ( Hindi: भारतीय़ संविधान see names in other Indian languages) is the supreme law of India. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar ( Marathi:डॊभीमराव रामजी आंबेडकर ( April 14, 1891 — December 6, 1956 ^[15]

Notes

References

• Ralph Thomas Hotchkin Griffith, The Texts of the White Yajurveda. Ralph Thomas Hotchkin Griffith (1826-1906 scholar of Indology, B Translated with a Popular Commentary (1899),
  • 1987 reprint: Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi, ISBN 8121500478
  • 1990 reprint: edited and enlarged by Surendra Pratap, Nag Publishers,11A/U, A,Jawahar Nagar, Delhi, ISBN 81-7081-2127
• Ramavarapu Krishnamurti Shastri (trans. ), Krishna Yajurvedeeya Taittiriya Samhita, Book VII, The Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanams, Tirumala Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh (2003).
• Dasaradhi Rangacharya,'Srimad-Andhra Vachana Shukla Yajurveda Samhita' (White Yajurveda Samhita in Telugu), Emesco Books, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh (1999)
• Dayananda Sarasvati, Introduction to the commentry on the Vedas, Meharchand lachhmandas Publications; 1st ed. This page is about the founder of the Arya Samaj. For others known by the same name please see Swami Dayananda (disambiguation (1981), Sarvadeshik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha; 2nd ed. (1984) [2]

See also

• Purushamedha
• Somayajna
• Ashva