The Queen-Horse Copulation
Ritual of the Asvamedha Yajna
The asvamedha yajna was the grand horse sacrifice which Aryan
(Hindu) kings conducted to celebrate their supremacy and for the prosperity
& fertility of their kingdoms. The
queen-horse copulation ritual was sometimes conducted during this sacred rite;
the relevant Hindu scriptural quotes are presented below.
I. The sexual ritual of the asvamedha yajna quoted from the Vedas (Satapatha
Brahmana).
II. Lord Rama's mom &
co-moms participate in the queen-horse sexual ritual of the asvamedha in the Valmiki Ramayana.
I. The sexual ritual
of the asvamedha yajna quoted from the Vedas.
The priests supervising the asvamedha:
the officiant (adhvaryu), overseer (brahman), cantor (udgatri) and the invoker (hotri).
The king's wives which participate in the queen-horse copulation
ceremony of the asvamedha:
the chief wife (mahishi), favourite wife, rejected wife and the
fourth wife. The Satapatha Brahmana, quoted
below, offers clear instructions on how the queen-horse copulation ritual of
the asvamedha is to be conducted; the king's chief wife (the mahishi)
is to copulate with the carcass of the horse while the priests and all the
participants curse each other in degenerate language:
"A cloth, an upper cloth, and gold
is what they spread out for the horse, and on that they 'quiet' him. When the
sacrificial animals have been 'quieted', the (king's) wives come up with water
for washing the feet -- four wives, and a maiden as the fifth, and four hundred
women attendants. When the water for washing the feet is ready, they make the
chief queen (Mahishi) lie down next to the horse, and they cover the two of
them up with the upper cloth as they say the verse, 'Let the two of us cover
ourselves in the world of heaven', for the world of heaven is where they
'quiet' the sacrificial animal. Then they draw out the penis of the horse and
place it in the vagina of the chief queen, while she says, 'May the vigorous
virile male, the layer of seed, lay the seed'; this she says for sexual
intercourse. While they are lying there, the sacrificer insults the horse by
saying, 'Lift up her thighs and put it in her rectum.' No one insults (the
sacrificer) back, lest there should be someone to act as a rival against the
sacrificer. The officiant (Adhvaryu) then insults the maiden: 'Hey, maiden,
hey, maiden, the little female bird ...' and she insults him back: 'Hey,
officiant, hey, officiant, that little bird....' And then the overseer
(Brahman) insults the chief queen: 'Hey, chief queen, hey, chief queen, your
mother and father climb to the top of a tree....' She has as her attendants a
hundred daughters of kings; they insult the overseer in return: 'Hey, overseer,
hey, overseer, your mother and your father play in the top of a tree....' Then
the cantor (Udgatri) insults the king's favourite wife: 'Hey, favourite, hey,
favourite wife, raise her up erect....' She has as her attendants a hundred
royal women; they insult the cantor in return: 'Hey, cantor, hey, cantor, raise
him up erect....' Then the invoker (Hotri) insults the rejected wife:
'Hey, rejected wife, hey, rejected wife, when inside her tight crack....' She
has as her attendants a hundred daughters of bards and village headmen; they
insult the invoker in return: 'Hey, invoker, hey, invoker, when the gods see
that miserable penis....' Then the carver (Kshatri) insults the fourth wife:
'Hey, fourth wife, hey, fourth wife, when the deer eats the barley, (the
farmer) does not hope to nourish the animal....' She has as her attendants a
hundred daughters of carvers and charioteers; they insult the carver in return:
'Hey, carver, hey, carver, when the deer eats the barley, (the farmer) does not
hope to nourish the animal....' These insulting speeches are for all kinds of
attainment, for through the horse sacrifice all desires are achieved. Thinking,
'With all kinds of speech we will achieve all kinds of desires', they make the
chief queen get up. Then the women walk back the way they came, and the others
utter at the end a sweet-smelling verse, the verse that begins, 'I praise
Dadhikravan.' For the life-span and the gods go out of those who speak impure
speech in the sacrifice. Thus they purify their speech to keep the gods from
going out of the sacrifice." -- Satapatha Brahmana 13:5:2:1-10. [O'Flaherty,
Wendy D. Textual Sources for the
Study of Hinduism. Pub.: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-61847-1. pp.16-17].
II. Lord Rama's mom &
co-moms participate in the queen-horse sexual ritual of the asvamedha in the Valmiki Ramayana.
King Dasaratha: Lord Rama's
father.
Kausalya: Rama's mom.
Kaikeyi & Sumitra: Rama's
co-moms.
To ensure the birth of sons, King Dasaratha conducted both the asvamedha and the putrakamesti yajnas. The
following quote from the Valmiki Ramayana details the first of the two
sacrifices that King Dasaratha conducted -- the asvamedha yajna, in particular the queen-horse sexual portion of
the sacrifice. Although all three of
King Dasaratha's wives were united with the carcass of the horse, Rama's mom
Kausalya was the one who had the honor of spending a whole night with the dead
animal's genitals plugged in her vagina:
"The prescribed victims -- snakes,
birds, the horse, and aquatic animals -- were bound at the place of immolation;
each was dedicated to a specific divinity as is set forth in the ritual texts.
The priests then bound them all to the posts in the manner set forth in the
ritual texts. Three hundred beasts in addition to Dasaratha's jewel of a horse
were bound there to the sacrificial posts. Kausalya walked reverently all
around the horse and then with the greatest joy cut it with three knives. Her
mind unwavering in her desire for righteousness, Kausalya passed one night with
the horse. The priests -- the hotr, the adhvaryu, and the udgatr
-- saw to it that the second and the juniormost of the king's wives, as well as
his chief queen, were united with the horse. Then the officiating priest, who
was extremely adept and held his senses in check, removed the fat of the horse
and cooked it in the manner prescribed in the ritual texts. At the proper time
and in accordance with the ritual prescriptions, the lord of men then sniffed
the fragrance of the smoking fat, thereby freeing himself from sin. Then,
acting in unison, the sixteen brahman officiating priests threw the limbs of
the horse into the fire, in accordance with the ritual injunctions. In other
sacrifices, the oblation is offered upon branches of the plaksa tree,
but in the Horse Sacrifice alone the apportionment of the victim is made on a
bed of reeds. The Horse Sacrifice is known as the Three-Day Rite; for both the kalpasutra
and the brahmanas refer to the Horse Sacrifice as a rite lasting
for three days." -- Ramayana 1:13:24-33. [Goldman,
Robert P. The Ramayana of Valmiki:
an Epic of Ancient India. Balakanda (vol. 1). Pub.: Princeton University
Press. ISBN 0-691-06561-6. pp.151-152].