I often read about horse of Ashvamedha in my childhood. My idea of it was close to the picture below. "The hose was then let loose and the army followed it."
But it was confusing...surely the empire building did not depend on the random horse movements.
Karen Armstrong in her latest book clarifies it:
"...A stabled horse will always make straight for home,
however, so the army was in fact driving the horse into territory that the king
was intent on conquering. Thus in India, as in any agrarian civilization,
violence was woven into the texture of aristocratic life..."
('Fields of
Blood: Religion and the History of Violence', 2014)
So the poor horse was not really free to roam but was being
driven "into territory that the
king was intent on conquering".
A load was lifted off my mind.
It's also important to add that sanitized versions of stories I read did not mention the horse slaughter ritual at the end.
It's also important to add that sanitized versions of stories I read did not mention the horse slaughter ritual at the end.
courtesy: Amar Chitra Katha title 'The Sons of Rama'
When this horse used to be killed, there were certain body parts of the horse, which the King was supposed to eat. I do not recollect the reference.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that the way I had visualized 'Ashwamedha' was exactly like cartoon you have put in the post. A quite benevolent image of quite a violent process!!