Question

What is the Difference between ashwamedha yagna and rajasuya

Answer 1

Rajasuya, known as the imperial sacrifice or the king’s inaugural sacrifice is a ritual of the Vedic religion. It is the yajna performed by the ancient kings of India who considered themselves as powerful to be an Emperor. After conquering the kings of other kingdoms and collecting tribute from them, the general would invite the vanquished kings to attend the  sacrifice ceremony. All the vanquished kings would in effect consider  the performer of these sacrifices as an emperor. 


Ashwamedha yagna

This yaga is a horse sacrifice followed by the Vedic religion. It was performed by ancient Indian kings to prove their superior sovereignty. In this, a horse accompanied by the king’s warriors would be released to wander for a period of one year. In the territory travelled by the horse, any rival could dispute the king’ s authority by challenging the warriors who accompany the horse .After one year, if no enemy had managed to capture or kill the horse, the animal would be guided back to the kingdom. It would be later sacrificed and the king would be considered and declared as an undisputed sovereign

Answer 2

Rajasuya and Ashwamedha Yagna

Explanation:

Both these yagna are rituals performed by kings who follow the Vedic religion. Both yagnas involve sacrifice, but the incidents leading to it and the kind of sacrifice done differ. Hence the purpose and inference of the yagna is different in both cases.

Rajasuya

Rajasuya is a king’s inaugural sacrifice. After conquering the kings of several other kingdoms and collecting tribute from the conquered land, the vanquished kings are invited to attend the  Rajasuya yagna. All the vanquished kings would consider the performer of this yagna as their Emperor (King of kings). 

Ashwamedha Yagna

Ashwamedha means a horse and the ritual involves sacrificing a horse. It begins when an Emperor would release a horse and his warriors to wander freely for a period of one year. During this one year, the horse and the warriors could be challenged by any other king who wants to dispute with the Emperor. At the end of the year, if no enemy had managed to capture or kill the horse, the animal will go back to the palace where he'd be sacrificed. The Emperor would be declared an undisputed sovereign.

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