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Daśaratha's Horse Sacrifice in the Rāmāyaṇa

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Daśaratha's Horse Sacrifice in the Rāmāyaṇa ORIENTALIA SUECANA 2020. Vol. 69: 1–28. UPPSALA UNIVERSITY Research article Simon Brodbeck* Daśaratha’s Horse Sacrifice in the Rāmāyaṇa https://doi.org/10. 06 /di!"#$0$6%& Abstract: This article discusses Daśaratha’s horse sacrifice at 1.8–16 in Vālmīki’s Rāmāyaṇa. Daśaratha’s rite seems to be a horse sacrifice, then a son-!roducing rite, then a !orrid"e-eating rite. The te#t has been seen as composite, but it $orks as a unit, using !oetic registers and narrati%e sym bols ali%e in the te#tual $orld o' its historical location – that is, in the Rāmāyaṇa alongside the Mahābhārata, Harivaṃśa, and earlier te#ts such as the (!aniṣads. The brahmin *śyaśṛ,"a, ke& offi ciant at Daśaratha’s rite, is !redisposed, b& the narration, to inseminate Daśaratha’s $i%es. This arti cle discusses Daśaratha’s rite "raduall&, $ith di"ressions and e#amples. .opics include Drau!adī’s conception, the putrikā or /ap!ointed dau"hter’, the horse sacrifice and the human sacrifice, the niyoga or /ap!ointment’ 0of a man to inseminate a $oman), the $ays in $hich the te#ts !resent se#, semen, and the masculinit& of the inseminator, and the $ays in $hich the& !resent "ods taking hu man 'orm. Keywords: Harivaṃśa, horse sacrifice, human sacrifice, insemination, Mahābhārata, masculinit&, Rāmāyaṇa, semen Introduction: Drupada’s Rite This article is not about Dru!ada or his offspring, but it is about the "etting of special offspring. The $ay Dru!ada "ets his special offspring is interesting and entertaining, and ser%es as an entr& and re' erence !oint 'or $hat 'ollo$s. King Dru!ada has 'allen out $ith and been humiliated b& his old 'riend, the brahmin Droṇa. 6 ski! the details and cut to the chase 0'or the 'ull stor&, see 7rodbeck 8996: 7rodbeck 899;1. Dru!ada desperatel& $ants to "et back at Droṇa, but he does not have the !o$er. <s he sees it, Droṇa, as a brahmin, has a natural ad%antage. droṇena vairaṃ drupadaḥ saṃsmaran na śaśāma ha ǀ kṣātreṇa ca balenāsya nāpaśyat sa parājayam ǁ hīnaṃ viditvā cātmānaṃ brāhmaṇena balena ca ǀ putrajanma par psan vai sa rājā tad adhārayat ǀ Drupada, broodin" on his 'eud $ith Dro5a, did not find !eace: nor did he see ho$ to %an?uish him $ith ro&al po$er, kno$in" it and himself to fall short of brahmin po$er. Waiting for the birth o' a son, the kin" bore his grudge ... 0Mahābhārata 1.188.16–1Bd, trans. van Buitenen 1;BCD 28C1! ! 6n this article 6 ?uote re!eatedl& from translations o' the Mahābhārata EFbhG and the Rāmāyaṇa EHām], and to a%oid re!etition 6 sometimes do not mention $hose translation 6 am ?uoting. (nless other$ise stated, i' it is a !assage from the Mahābhārata, the translation is from the (ni%ersit& o' Ihicago Jress translation 0%an Buitenen 1;BC or 1;BK1: and i' it is a !assage 'rom the Rāmāyaṇa, the translation is from Loldman 899K – the Ila& Manskrit Nibrar& re!rint, $ith re !aragra!hed On"lish and added Manskrit, o' the !ālakāṇḍa translation earlier !ublished b& Jrinceton (ni%ersit& Jress 0Loldman 1;8P1. @hen ?uotin" Loldman and %an Buitenen’s translations 6 ha%e made some silent cosmetic adQustments: for e#am!le, 6 ha%e adQusted the !resentation o' Manskrit names in the Ila& Manskrit Nibrar& %olume. Harivaṃśa ER%G translations are m& o$n, aSer Brodbeck 891;. " 'ep"r(men( of Religious and Theologic"l S(+dies- C"rdi/ Universi(1- E#m"il: brodbecksp3c"rdi/."c.uk 4pen 5ccess. 6ublished b1 (he 'ep"r(men( of 7inguis(ics "nd 6hilology- 0pps"l" 0ni!ersi(1. ,his 8ork is licensed under (he .re"(ive Commons Attrib+(ion 4.0 In(ern"(ion"l :.. B; 4.0< license. S. B*4'B2.= '5>5*5,?5@S ?4*S2 S5.*9A9.2 9B ,?2 *CDC;5E5 putrajanma par psan vai śokopahatacetanaḥ ǀ nāsti śreṣ#haṃ mamāpatyam iti nityam acintayat ǁ jātān putrān sa nirvedād dhig bandhūn iti cābrav t ǀ He $as seekin" to obtain the birth o' a son, for, his mind bein" obsessed $ith his hurt, he $as al$a&s thinking, T6 ha%e no outstandin" children.U V' his o$n sons $hen the& $ere born he said in despair, T<ccursed broodWU 0Mahābhārata 1.1KK.8–Cb, trans. van Buitenen 1;BCD 3161 So Dru!ada starts looking 'or a brahmin to administer a ritual solution to his !roblem. Vne brahmin is himsel' unwillin", but says his brother Xāja mi"ht do it. Dru!ada says to Xāja: droṇāntakam ahaṃ putraṃ labheyaṃ yudhi durjayam ǀ tat karma kuru me yāja nirvapāmy arbudaṃ gavām ǁ 6 $ant to obtain a son, un%an?uishable in ba3le, $ho shall be the death o' Dro5a. Jerform the rite for me, YāQa, and I shall gi%e you a m&riad co$s! 0Mahābhārata 1.1KK.8;, trans. van Buitenen 1;BCD 31B1 Xāja agrees, makes !reparations, and the rite takes !lace. yājas tu havanasyānte dev m āhvāpayat tadā ǀ praihi māṃ rājñi pṛṣati mithunaṃ tvām upasthitam ǁ devy uvāca ǀ avaliptaṃ me mukhaṃ brahman puṇyān gandhān bibharmi ca ǀ sutārthenoparuddhāsmi tiṣ#ha yāja mama priye ǁ <t the end o' the o2ering, XāQa summoned the ?ueenD TMtride for$ard to me, Yeen J+)atīW The time for cohabitation has comeWU The queen saidD “F& face is anointed, brahmin, I wear the hol& scents. For the sake o' a son I am im !ortuned – sta&, brahmin, fa%orable to me.U 0Mahābhārata 1.1KK.3P–CK, trans. van Buitenen 1;BCD 3181 6t is to be a se# rite, and this is made e#!licit b& the use o' the $ord mithuna. The oblation that Xāja has !re!ared is made, and the results are Dh+)[ad&umna, $ho does indeed "o on to kill Droṇa, and Drau!adī. Drau!adī mi"ht seem to have been some$hat incidental, since Dru!ada did not re?uest any dau"hters; but she marries the Jāṇḍava brothers and !lays a lead role in dri%ing e%ents towards the Kurukṣetra $ar in $hich her brother kills Droṇa. <s the narration has it, Dh+)[ad&umna $as born 'rom the ritual fire 01.1KK.CB1, and Drau!adī $as born 'rom the middle of the ritual "round 0ved' imadhyāt, 1.1KK.P1: on the vedi, see Thite 1;BKD 119–181. Who is the dev or rāj% – the /?ueen’ or /"oddess’] Rer name, J+ṣatī, is a !atronymic 'rom the name o' Dru!ada’s 'ather J+ṣata. Dru!ada is also called Jārṣata, /son o' J+ṣata’ 0e."., at 1.188.Pb1, and Fonier Williams says that J+ṣatī is e?ui%alent to Jārṣatī, /the dau"hter of J+ishata’ 0Fonier Williams 18;;D 6PB col.81. Thus J+ṣatī $ould not be Dru!ada’s $i'e, but his sister, dau"hter, or niece. Rer ap !ointment to her role is not narrated as Xāja’s is to his. 6n any case, the son is 'or Dru!ada. ORIENTALIA SUECANA 2020. Vol. 69. 2 S. B*4'B2.= '5>5*5,?5@S ?4*S2 S5.*9A9.2 9B ,?2 *CDC;5E5 Main Theme: Daśaratha’s Rite King Daśaratha of <&odh&ā’s rite, like Dru!ada’s, is in order to "et male !rogeny. tasya tv evaṃ prabhāvasya dharmaj%asya mahātmanaḥ = sutārthaṃ tapyamānasya nās d vaṃśakaraḥ sutaḥ > cintayānasya tasyaivaṃ buddhir ās n mahātmanaḥ ǀ sutārthaṃ vājimedhena kimarthaṃ na yajāmy aham ǁ O%en though the great man EDaśarathaG kne$ all the $a&s o' righteousness and reigned in such ma" nificence, he su2ered for the lack o' a son, for he had no son to carr& on his d&nast&. <nd as the great man brooded o%er this, a thought occurred to him. T@h& do 6 not perform the Horse Macrifice to "et a son]U 0Rāmāyaṇa 1.8.1–8, trans. Goldman 299KD 81, adQusted1% Theaśvamedha 0horse sacrifice) is not usuall& a son-"etting rite, hence Goldman and Sutherland note that TDaśaratha’s choice o' this !articular rite is !eculiarU 0Goldman and Sutherland 1;8PD 8;81.3 The aśvamedha is Tnormall& emplo&ed in the epics to sancti'& a king’s ac?uisition of so%erei"nt& o%er his nei"hbors’ territories” 0Goldman 1;8PD BP: see also Mutherland Goldman 899PD K81. 6n the aśvamedha, $hich $ill be described 'urther belo$, the kin"’s horse must roam celibate 'or a &ear, then be su2o cated and seemingl& copulate in death $ith the chief ?ueen. 7hattachar&&a says o' the horse sacrifice that Tits central ritual $as the union of the ?ueen $ith the horseU 07ha3achar&&a 1;BKD C: on this cen tral ritual see ^amison 1;;6D 6K–88, ;;–1191. <s soon as Daśaratha %oices his !lan 'or a TRorse Sacrifice to "et a son”, his minister Sumantra tells him the stor& of the brahmin *śyaśṛ,"a. The immediate switch to the stor& of *śyaśṛ,"a is striking, and in this connection comments have been made concerning the editorial !rehistor& o' the te#t. 6n their notes to the Jrinceton translation, Goldman and Sutherland speak of Tan awk$ard "ap in the narrati%eU here, and o' Tthe relati%el& late and rather imper'ect inter!olation of Ethe stor& of *śyaśṛ,"a] into the Hāma stor&U 0Goldman and Mutherland 1;8PD 8;81. When the& say Trelati%el& lateU, Goldman and Sutherland are speaking of relati%e chronolog& be t$een !arts of the criticall& reconstituted te#t.
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