ABSTRACT
Most of the Veda treats of the sacrifices to the fire, and describes each one of them. They are different in extent, so that certain of them can only be performed by the greatest of their kings. So, e.g. the aśvamedha. A mare is let freely to wander about in the country grazing, without anybody’s hindering her. Soldiers follow her, drive her, and cry out before her: “She is the king of the world. He who does not agree, let him come forward.” The Brahmans walk behind her and perform sacrifices to the fire where she casts dung. When she thus has wandered about through all parts of the world, she becomes food for the Brahmans and for him whose property she is.
Aśvamedha.
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