HISTORY OF With the chaunting of Vedic hymns, and "Take and eat" were the only words that could be heard. INDIA. PART II. Place of sacrifice. of the sacrifice. leader of the choir of Bráh mans. Dhaumya and Yajna-walkya, the sacred cooks. Choir of young Brahmans. Meanwhile the place of sacrifice was made ready, and it was surrounded on all sides by the pavilions of the Rajas and the Brahmans, and by very many storehouses and treasuries; and it surpassed in richness and beauty every place of sacrifice which had ever been seen before. And Vyása, the chief the sage Vyása was chief of the sacrifice, and appointed everything that was to be done; and he brought some very Sasarman, the learned sages to attend the great ceremony. And Sasarman was appointed to be Udgátri, or chief chaunter of the Vedic hymns. And Dhaumya and Yajna-walkya were the Hotris, Who cooked the sacrifice, and offered it to the gods; and their sons and pupils were the Brithis, or assistant Hotris, who chaunted the mantras whilst the sacrifice was being presented to the fire. Then Raja Yudhishthira, bowing down to his uncle Dhritarashtra, asked the permission of Bhishma, Drona, Duryodhana, and the rest, that he might begin the ceremony, saying:-"You have full control over my property and Raj, so do what is best for me: All of you must assist me in this undertaking, and each one must The great feast. accept a separate charge." Then Bhishma and Drona directed the feast, and gave their counsel as to what was to be done, and what was to be omitted. Duryodhana was made the general superintendent in giving and receiving Distribution of presents. Duhsásana superintended the distribution of the food; and Sahadeva took charge of all the choicer provisions; and two of the most faithful servants of Arjuna distributed the rice, the butter, the sugar, the milk, and the sandal wood. Aswattháma, the son of Drona, and Sanjaya, the minister and charioteer of Dritaráshtra, waited upon Mythical respect the Bráhmans; Kripa gave the gifts to the Bráhmans; and Krishna was appointed to wash the feet of the Brahmans; and the gifts that were given to the Brahmans were beyond all computation. food and gifts. shown to the Brahmans. Exaggerations in the descrip The extravagant exaggerations which appear in tion of the sacri- the foregoing narrative are somewhat distracting, but yet it may be possible to draw an approximate fice and feast. INDIA. ture of the real Probable cha crificial rites. picture of the events which actually transpired. The HISTORY OF scene which probably presented itself to the eye at PART II. the Rajasúya, was a barbarous sacrifice followed by Probable pica rude feast in the open air. The ceremonies per- scene. formed at the sacrifice are not clearly related in the racter of the saMahá Bhárata, but were probably in accordance with those which find expression in the Rig-Veda. A number of priests, either Bráhmans, or the pre- The place of sadecessors of Bráhmans, marked out the spot for with Kusagrass. sacrifice, and strewed the place with the sacred kusa crifice strewed fire. grass, and kindled the sacrificial fire, singing the old The sacrificial incantations which had been handed down to them by their fathers from times primeval. They next Presentation of presented the Homa in sacrificial ladles, and poured it upon the flame with much chaunting of Vedic hymns, and performance of mystic rites; and doubt Agni. sacrifices. Indra and all scend and par less they invoked Agni, the deity of fire, to lick up Invocations to their simple oblations, and carry them in the ascending flame to the bright gods on high. Then animals Nature of the may have been sacrificed, and their flesh cooked upon the fire, whilst vast quantities of other food were prepared, partly as offerings to the gods, and partly as provisions for the assembly. But before Invocations to the worshippers sat down to the feast, the deities of the gods to dethe Vedas, with Indra at their head, would be in- take of the offervoked in passionate strains to descend from their resplendent abodes, and to come and sit down upon the sacred grass, and partake of the choice viands. which had been prepared for their acceptance; and especially to drink up the milk, the curds, the ghee, the sugar, and the grateful and exhilarating juice of the soma. The so-called Rajas who really attended the Rajasúya were in all probability a rude company ings. Probable cha racter of the of present at the Rajas who were Rajasúya. INDIA. PART II. Topics of conversation. HISTORY OF half-naked warriors, who feasted boisterously beneath the shade of trees. Their conversation was very likely confined to their domestic relations, such as the state of their health, the condition of their families, the exploits of their sons, and the marriages of their daughters; or to their domestic circumstances, such as herds of cattle, harvests of grain, and feats of arms against robbers and wild beasts. Their highest ideas were probably simple conceptions of the gods who sent light, heat, and rain; who gave long life, abundance of children, prolific cattle, and brimming harvests, and who occasionally manifested their wrath in lightning and thunder, in devastating tempests and destroying floods. Such, in all probability, was the general character of the festive multitude who sat down upon the grass at the great feast to eat and drink vigorously to the honour and glory of the new Raja. Reasons why the authentic tra mythical exag gerations. But the simple details of such a primitive gatherdition is lost in ing, grateful as they would have proved to a student of human nature, could scarcely have satisfied the aspirations of the later Brahmanical bards, or the pre-conceived ideas of the audiences before whom The Maha Bhá- they recited the ancient story. The age when the rata composed in an age of Brahmanical ascendancy. Mahá Bhárata assumed its present form was a period of Brahmanical ascendancy. The divinity of the Bráhman caste was powerfully enforced and implicitly believed; and those ancient sages who had rendered themselves famous by their wisdom and Contemporary fabled austerities, were reverenced as gods. At the same time the Courts of the Hindú Rajas who acknowledged the spiritual supremacy of the Brahmanical hierarchy, were a blaze of Oriental splendour and luxury. The Rajas themselves never appeared before their subjects, unless arrayed in royal vest splendour of the courts of the Rajas. INDIA. PART II. dition remo delled to suit the tastes and ideas of a later period. ments of cloth of gold and colours, adorned with a HISTORY OF profusion of jewels, and surrounded on all sides by the glittering insignia of Hindú royalty. In other words, an age of ecclesiastical power and regal magnificence had succeeded to the simple patriarchal rule which prevailed in the Vedic period. Under such The early tra circumstances as these, the bards and eulogists, who chaunted the ancient story before the later Rajas, could scarcely have related the primitive details of olden time in which Princesses milked the cows, and Princes tilled the land. On the other hand, every exaggeration and embellishment which was introduced would add to the attraction of the legend, for they would redound to the greatness and grandeur of the Hindú heroes of olden time, the fathers of the very men who were drinking in the story. The The Brahmantemptations which led the Brahmanical compilers to interest to exagexalt their ancient sages in the eyes of a later generation were even stronger; for the fabled respect paid to the sages by the ancient Rajas furnished bright examples for later Rajas to follow; and certainly the assertion that Krishna washed the feet of the Bráh- Significance of mans is the highest glorification which could be con- washed the feet ceived by the Hindús. so the ical compilers gerate the re speet paid to the ancient sages. the assertion Krishna of the Bráhmans. (3.) The death of thentic tradi Sisupála an au tion belonging to the Krishna group, but grafttory of the Pan ed on to the his davas. The death of Sisupála, which forms a third section of the legend of the Rajasúya, belongs to one of that series of traditions respecting Krishna which are frequently found interlaced with the history of Pándavas. The tradition is apparently authentic in itself, and only demands consideration because it seems to have been grafted on another authentic tradition with which it has no real connection. The Legend of the story is as follows: presentation of the Argha to the greatest Chieftain present at Now the custom was at the beginning of a Rajasúya to a Rajasuya. INDIA. PART II. The Argha given to Krishna. pála. HISTORY OF declare who was the greatest and strongest of all the Rajas there assembled, in order that the Argha might be given to him; and Bhishma, as ruler of the feast, declared that the honour was due to Krishna, who was the greatest and Wrath of Sisu- strongest of them all. But Sisupála, the Raja of Chedi, was exceedingly wroth with Krishna, for when he was betrothed to the beautiful Rukmini, Krishna had carried her away and General uproar, made her his own wife. So Sisupála arose and threw the whole assembly into an uproar, and he said with a loud. voice :-" If the honour be due to age, it should have been given to Vasudeva; if it be due to him who has the greatest Raj, it should have been given to Raja Drupada; if it be due to the youth of loftiest mind, it should have been given to Raja Duryodhana; if it be due to the greatest preceptor, it should have been given to Drona; and if it be due to the greatest saint, it should have been given to Vyása: But shame be upon this assembly, who hath given that honour to a cowherd, who was the murderer of his own Raja." Having thus spoken, Sisupála and his friends who were with him made a great tumult. Yudhishthira and Bhishma then reasoned with Sisupála, but he would not heed their words, and drew his sword, and threatened to slay all the guests and spoil the sacrifice. Yudhishthira and his brethren then rose to fight against Sisupála, but Bhishma withheld them; and Sisupála in his rage abused Bhishma and Krishna in such opprobrious terms that the whole assembly were alarmed. At last Krishna said:-" I have hitherto restrained my hand, because this man is my own kinsman, but I can bear with his words no longer." And thus speaking he whirled his chakra furiously at Sisupála, and severed his head from his body; and Sisupála fell dead upon the ground, and his sons carried away his body and burnt it upon the funeral pile. Thus Krishna saved the Rajasúya of Yudhishthira by the slaughter of Sisupála; for had Raja Yudhishthira been set at defiance by a Raja who had not been conquered, the Rajasúya would have been imperfect and of no avail. Threat of Sisu pála that he would spoil the sacrifice. Sisupála beheaded by the chakra of Krishna. Rajasúya of Point of the foregoing legend; the presentation of the Argha to Krishna. The foregoing story turns upon the presentation |