INDIA. PART II. Description in the Mahawanso of the plough ing of conse. crated ground by a Buddhist sovereign. HISTORY OF Royal Tribe as one of the emblems of royalty.20 It is also still more remarkable that a golden plough was used by Buddhist sovereigns at the consecration of a monastery or temple; and a graphic description has been preserved in the Mahawanso of the performance of this ceremony by a monarch who reigned in the third century before the Christian era. The ground was first sprinkled with red sandal-wood, after which two elephants were harnessed to the golden plough, and the Buddhist Raja ploughed along the boundary line, accompanied by the priests and guarded by officials carrying staves of gold and silver. A large company of troops marched in procession, together with beautiful females carrying umbrellas and other decorations, and musicians playing every description of instrument; whilst gorgeous flags tingling with bells were carried in the air, as well as painted vases, glass mirrors, and garlands and baskets of flowers. In this way the Buddhist Raja ploughed the land, passing through many triumphant arches made of plantain trees, whilst a vast multitude waved their handkerchiefs in the air and rent the skies with their enthusiastic acclamations.21 The Buddhist procession. Description of the offering of the homa. To return, however, to the Aswamedha of Raja Yudhishthira. The attempt may now be made to separate those details which appear to belong to the Brahmanical offerings of the homa, from those which seem to refer to the sacrifice of the horse. The homa, consisting chiefly of ghee, was prepared in eight sacrificial pits, and was presented to the gods 20 Herodotus, Book IV. c. 5. It should be remarked that the plough was accompanied by a yoke, or battle-axe, and a drinking-cup. 21 Mahawanso, Turnour's translation, pages 98, 99. The Chinese traveller, Fa Hian, seems to have witnessed a similar ceremony which, like the above, was performed in the island of Ceylon. Travels of Fa Hian, chap. xxxix. INDIA. PART II. medicinal herbs homa. the religious by the homa. in sacrificial ladles through the medium of fire; and HISTORY OF on the present occasion samples of every vegetable, and every medicinal herb growing in the Raj, are Vegetables and said to have been likewise thrown into the homa. thrown into the When the presentation of homa was over, the remaining portion of the medicinal herbs was reduced to powder and formed into balls; and a ball was given to each person present. By this rite the Raja Distribution of was supposed to give to one and all a share of the re- merit acquired ligious merits which had been acquired by the performance of the sacrifice, and which was supposed to wipe off from the account of good and evil deeds, an indefinite number of the evil actions which had been previously committed by the individuals concerned. It should also be remarked that the offering of the Brahmans alone homa was exclusively performed by Bráhmans, under the superintendence of the mythical Vyása, and in the presence of all the Rishis who are famous in Brahmanical tradition. engaged, the sacrifice of or plates em cient times. It will now be seen that the sacrifice of the horse Description of was carried out in a very different fashion; and that the horse. the rite was performed not by Bráhmans, but by two of the Pandavas. The place of sacrifice is said to Golden bricks have been paved with bricks of gold; and this costly ployed in anarrangement was no doubt often carried out when the Aswamedha was performed by a rich and conquering Raja. Solomon overlaid not only the altars but the very temple itself with plates of gold; and amongst the treasures of Croesus were a number of golden bricks which may possibly have been cast for a similar purpose. Round the place of sacrifice The victims tied eight pillars were set up, to which the horse, and perhaps other animals, were tied. The rite was per- Rite performed 22 to pillars. by Nakula and Sahadeva. 22 Herodotus, Book I. c. 50. INDIA. PART II. Speech of the horse a Brah mianical inter polation. HISTORY OF formed by Nákula and Bhíma, although various attempts are made, chiefly involving the introduction of some supernatural detail, to impart a Brahmanical tone even to this portion of the narrative. Thus When Nákula declared that the horse was speaking, he was probably acting in accordance with a crude notion that a victim before sacrifice was capable of prophesying. But the language put into the mouth of the animal is eminently Brahmanical; for the horse is said to have exulted in the idea that instead of going like other sacrificial horses to the heaven of Indra, he was going beyond it, that is, to the heaven of Vishnu, because of the presence of Krishna. Again Unmeaning in Dhaumya, the family priest, is introduced, to give the scimitar to Bhíma, and to perform the senseless miracle of squeezing milk out of the horse's ear. The whole concludes with a miracle, in which the flesh of the horse approximates to camphor, and is finally converted by Dhaumya into homa. Here the Brahmanical rite distinctly overlays the original rite; for it is certain that in the ancient performance of an Aswamedha, the flesh of the horse was cooked upon the fire, and was both presented to the gods and eaten by the assembled guests.23 The statement that the head of the horse ascended to heaven is also a miracle, but originates in a Vedic idea rather than in the prolific imaginations of the Brahmanical compilers.24 troduction of the Brahman Dhaumya. Conversion of the horseflesh into camphor and homa. Vedic idea of the ascent of the horse's head. 23 The first Aswamedha hymn in the Rig-Veda describes the boiling and roasting of different portions of the flesh, the presentation of a part to the gods, and the eating of a part by the persons present. See Wilson's Translation, Vol. II. p. 121, note. 24 See the second Aswamedha hymn in the Rig-Veda, Wilson's Translation, Vol. II. p. 123, in which the worshipper is supposed to be reciting the following Verse:-"I recognize in my mind thy form afar off, going from the earth below, INDIA. PART II. sacrifice of the instead of to the horse to Indra, Sun, indicative change in the national reli One other incident seems to require some ex- HISTORY OF planation. It has already been stated that the horse was originally sacrificed to the Sun; and yet in both the Mahá Bhárata and the Rámáyana the horse is said to have been offered to Indra. This change of of an ancient deity seems to involve a new stage in the develop-gion. ment of the Hindú religion. The worship of the Sun as a material existence had been superseded by the worship of a more human deity and protector in the person of Indra; just in the same way that the worship of the human hero Indra was subsequently superseded by the worship of the great Spirit Vishnu. The circumstances which led to this change in the national religion may be easily conjectured. The Sun is the deity of temperate climates, for it is he who ripens the harvests; but in a tropical climate like India the favourite deity is the one who sends the rain; and the Vedic deity who sends the rain is Indra, the god of the firmament. The subject is a curious one, and will be discussed in a future volume under the head of religion. by way of Heaven, to the Sun: I behold thy head soaring aloft, and mounting quickly by unobstructed paths, unsullied by dust." CHAPTER XVII. HISTORY OF FINAL TRAGEDIES. THE story of the Mahá Bhárata virtually ends PART II. with the Aswamedha of Raja Yudhishthira. The Duration of the great war was over; the Pándavas had slain all their davas for thirty-enemies; and Yudhishthira had not only been inau Raj of the Pán six years. gurated in the Raj, but had celebrated the great horse sacrifice which established his sovereignty. A period of thirty-six years is said to have followed, at the expiration of which the Raj of the Pándavas was Three incidents brought to a close. This period was marked by three incidents; the first of which occurred within a few years of Yudhishthira's inauguration, whilst the other two are connected with the termination of his reign. These three incidents are as follows: during the period. 1st. The exile and death of tarashtra. 1st, The exile and death of Maháraja Dhritaráshtra. 2nd, The destruction of Dwáraká and death of Krishna. 3rd, The exile and death of the Pándavas. The narrative of the exile and death of the blind Maharaja Dhri- old Maháraja requires no preliminary explanation. It involves, however, a wonderful miracle performed by the sage Vyása, which stands out as one of the finest products of Hindú imagination which can be |