Ashvamedha

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The Ashvamedha (Sanskrit: अश्वमेध, romanized: aśvamedha) was a horse sacrifice ritual practiced in the Śrauta tradition of Vedic religion. It was used by ancient Indian kings to prove their imperial sovereignty: a horse accompanied by the king's warriors would be released to wander for a year. In the territories traversed by the horse, any rival could dispute the king's authority by challenging the warriors accompanying it. After one year, if no enemy had managed to kill or capture the horse, the animal would be guided back to the king's capital. It would then be sacrificed, and the king would be declared as an undisputed sovereign. The ritual is recorded as being held by many ancient rulers, but apparently only twice in the last thousand years. The most recent ritual was in 1741, the second one held by Maharajah Jai Singh II of Jaipur. The original Vedic religion had evidently included many animal sacrifices, as had the various folk religions of India. Brahminical Hinduism had evolved...

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