Putra Kameshti Yagna - The birth of Supreme

[Guest guest]

King Dasharatha traveled to the kingdom of Anga, accompanied by his

queens and his ministers. His kinsman Romapada, the King of Anga,

welcomed the royal party with all due honor. After enquiries about

mutual welfare were exchanged, Dasharatha introduced the topic of his

visit.

 

He said, " My dear friend, you know that I am childless and desirous

of progeny. It has been foretold by the great sage Sanat Kumara that

only Rishyashringa, the husband of your daughter Shanta, can conduct

the ritual that can give me children. In the absence of his father

Vibhandaka, you are like a father to him. Kindly accompany him to

Ayodhya with your family, and enable me to conduct the Ashwamedha

Yagna for obtaining offspring. "

 

Romapada said, " Dear King, It has been said that a man without a son

cannot aspire to reach the blessed regions of his ancestors. I would

be greatly honored if my son-in-law can help in the propagation of

the Ikshvaku dynasty. I shall certainly be present at this noble

Yagna to be conducted by Rishyashringa. "

 

With these words, Romapada then sent a messenger to inform

Rishyashringa about the request made by King Dasharatha. After the

consent of that Brahmana was obtained, Dasharatha returned to his

Kingdom of Kosala and made preparations for the Yagna.

 

The entire town of Ayodhya was decorated in preparation for the vedic

ritual. Many eminent scholars were invited to participate and observe

the ceremony. The citizens were eagerly awaiting the day of the

Yagna, for that was the day they would obtain a heir to the throne.

When the eminent Ritwik Rishyashringa arrived, the King and his

ministers received him at the city gates and greeted him with the

sounding of conch shells and drum beats. Dasharatha then took

Rishyashringa to the palace and offered him worship as ordained in

the scriptures and formally invested him with the office of the chief-

conductor of sacrifices. When he beheld the radiance born of

knowledge and penance emanating from the young Rishi, Dasharatha

rejoiced, and considered that his wish was as good as fulfilled.

Shanta, the wife of Rishyashringa was similarly welcomed and

worshiped by the women of the royal family.

 

Before performing a Vedic ritual of the highest order, the Yajaman

(performer, here Dasharatha) has to observe various subordinate

rituals and prepare himself for a period of one year. Dasharatha

observed these rituals diligently under the supervision of

Rishyashringa and became eligible to perform the sacrifice at the

beginning of the spring of the next year.

 

At the end of the year long penance, Dasharatha requested his chief-

priest Vasishta to begin the main ritual. The sage Vasishta then

instructed Brahmana scholars, talented architects and other experts

to construct the ritual hall in accordance with the scriptures. Some

of the close allies of Dasharatha had come to stay in Ayodhya a year

ago, to participate in the festivities surrounding the Vedic ritual.

Rest of his allies were invited to grace the occasion now. Among the

Kings who came to participate in the sacrifice were: Janaka, the king

of Mithila, the King of Kashi, Dasharatha's father-in-law the King of

Kekeya and his sons, Romapada the King of Anga, Bhanumanta the King

of Kosala, Praptijna the King of Magadha, and many others. These

kings brought many costly gifts to affirm their affection for

Dasharatha.

 

At the appointed auspicious hour, the Brahmanas led by Rishyashringa

and guided by Vasishta entered the ritual hall. First, King

Dasharatha and his wives took formal vows for conducting the ritual.

With the installation of the Yajaman of the Yagna, the ritual

commenced. The air was filled with the vibrations from the ritual

chanting of the Vedas. One by one, all the Gods were invoked and

oblations were poured into the ritual fire for them. With the

faultless Rishyashringa and noble Vasishta directing the ceremony,

there was not even the smallest mistake in the customary rites.

 

During the Yagna, all those arrived in the city were fed sumptuously.

None went hungry during the ceremony. While the oblations were being

offered in the central hall, many debates and other scholarly

contests were conducted in the outer buildings. Plays were staged,

musical and dance performances were also conducted for the

entertainment of the assembled guests.

 

The main sacrificial hall was in the shape of a great eagle,

symbolizing the flight of Garuda, the mount of Lord Vishnu. The wings

of this altar were decorated with pure gold. Countless animals of all

kinds were readied to be sacrificed to the Gods as ordained in the

scriptures. Of course, the main sacrifice was that of the horse, that

had already been killed. The three wives of king Dasharatha

symbolically pierced the dead animal with needle like golden knives

to signify that it was being offered to the Gods.

 

Queen Kausalya, the chief-queen of Dasharatha spent a night with the

dead horse. Then the ritual offering of all the wealth of the King to

the Ritwiks of the sacrifice was performed. The King symbolically

donated his kingdom, his cattle, his wives to the Ritwiks, and

redeemed them immediately. The Ritwiks then cooked the fat of the

dead horse and dropped it into the altar, into the sacrificial fire

as an offering to the celestials. One by one, the remaining body

parts of the horse were thrown into the sacrificial fire by the

sixteen officiating priests.

 

Then the King donated land and millions of cattle to the four chief

priests of the sacrifice. Untold wealth in gold was also distributed

to the other Brahmanas who assisted in the sacrifice. Gladdened by

these meritorious deeds of Dasharatha, Rishyashringa blessed him,

saying, " You will obtain four illustrious sons. "

 

After finishing the Ashwamedha Yagna, the Putra Kameshti ritual was

begun for the purpose of obtaining progeny. As that ritual was

conducted, the Gods and other noble souls assembled in the skies to

receive their share of the sacrificial oblations. Seeing that Lord

Brahma was amongst the assembled multitude, Indra said to him, " Sire,

the ravages of that Rakshasa Ravana have become intolerable. Armed

with boons from Lord Shiva, he has become invincible. You have also

blessed him with many powerful boons and that has made him arrogant.

He is torturing the sages, celestials and even the Brahmanas. Please

suggest a way to end this misery. "

 

Lord Brahma said, " He has obtained a boon that he shall not be slain

by the Devas, the divine beings, Gandharvas, the Yakshas or by the

Rakshasas. He has omitted humans from this list, thinking them of no

account. Therein lies the means of his death. Do not worry, for Lord

Vishnu shall be incarnated as a mortal and slay him. "

 

Meanwhile, Rishyashringa began pouring the sacrificial oblations into

the altar, accompanied by the chants from the Atharva Veda. From the

sacrificial fire, there arose a divine being, the Prajapatya pursha

( & #2346; & #2381; & #2352; & #2332; & #2366; & #2346; & #2340; & #2381; & #2351;

& #2346; & #2369; & #2352; & #2369; & #2359;), who held a glowing vessel in his hands. He

was clad in

red and black, had a fierce mustache and his voice was like that of

rolling thunder. This deity turned towards King Dasharatha and

said, " O King, know me to be the messenger of Prajapati. "

 

The King revered him with folded hands and bowed head and said, " O

divine being, welcome to my realm. I have conducted this ritual with

the intention of obtaining progeny. What should I do next? "

 

The being then said, " Look O King, at this golden vessel, glowing

like the midday sun, and covered with silver lid of intricate

workmanship. It contains the divine dessert that is the result of

your worship. Pleased with your devotions, the Gods have sent me to

offer you this son-giving divine dessert as your portion. Let this be

consumed by your wives, they shall bear children in course of time. "

 

Gratified, the King accepted the vessel from the deity. Then he

worshiped him by circumambulating both the deity and the sacrificial

fire. The Prajapatya pursha then disappeared back into the fire.

 

The King then gave half of the dessert to his first queen Kausalya.

He gave one fourth to queen Sumitra and one eighth to queen Kaikeyi.

He then saw that there was still one eighth of the dessert left, so

he gave it again to Sumitra, who was thus fed twice. By the power of

the divine dessert, all three soon became pregnant.

 

When the final rites of the sacrifice were completed, the festivities

came to an end. One by one, the various Kings who had come to witness

the vedic ritual took their leave. Romapada went back to Anga,

accompanied by his daughter Shanta and son-in-law Rishyashringa, who

had obtained great wealth as the chief Ritwik of the ritual.

 

Twelve months after the completion of the Ashwamedha, on the ninth

day of the month of Chaitra, when the star Punarvasu was ascendant,

and the presiding deity of the star was Aditi, when the planets Sun,

Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus were at their highest position, when

Jupiter and moon were ascendant in the sign of Cancer, Queen Kausalya

gave birth to a son possessed of all divine attributes. This lotus-

red eyed, long armed, rose-lipped boy, the incarnation of Vishnu was

named Rama. Kausalya was radiant with her son Rama in her arms, as

Aditi had shone with her son Indra in days of yore.

 

Soon after, Kaikeyi gave birth to Bharata, who would be famed for his

sense of justice. Queen Sumitra gave birth to the twins Laxmana and

Shatrughna, who would become great warriors, skilled in all weapons.

Bharata was born under the sign Pisces, with the star Pushyami

ascendant. The twins were born under the sign Cancer, with the star

Asresha ascendant.

 

The people rejoiced at the birth of their princes. The king gave rich

gifts to bards, panegyrists, to Brahmanas and other worthy people. He

gave away thousands of heads of cattle to mark the occasion. Eleven

days after the birth of the princes, the naming ceremony was held,

presided over by the chief-priest Vasishta. The four brothers grew

up, delighting their parents by their childish antics and their

mutual affection.

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These informations are pulled from Sri Valmiki Ramayana.

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Hare Krishna

Hare Rama