After the return of the released horse at the end of a year the Asvamedha yaga was begun on the Northern bank of the river Sarayu. Rshyasringa the chief of the priests assisted by many more venerable Brahmins, with Dasaratha seated in the midst of the most honorable of kings commenced the Asvamedha.Priests whose knowledge of vedas was profound performed every ritual impeccably according to Kalpasutra.
In the hallowed grounds of the Asvamedha no one was hungry or thirsty. People were persuaded to take the best of foods and gifted the best of clothes. Mounds of food were ever kept ready for the visiting multitudes from cities and countryside. Brahmins, ascetics, Sudras, women, children and even the sick though satiated could not stop eating the exotic foods. Amazed at the unequaled hospitality, people sang praise of Dasaratha.Brahmins built the sacrificial fireplace to the size and manner prescribed in Shastras. Even the bricks used for the construction of fireplaces were made of a special size as per Shastras. The kinds of wood used for the posts where the sacrificial animals were to be secured were also according to prescribed tradition.The sacrificial altar erected in the shape of an eagle dazzled like burnished gold appearing to be a gold winged eagle. The Asvamedha a three-day ritual needed eighteen fireplaces, which were thrice as many as normal.When at the end of the yaga king Dasaratha magnanimous to the core gave away the entire earth to the presiding priests. They protested those noble souls refused to accept that kind of magnanimity saying that the king alone who was pure and cleansed was the supreme ruler and protector of the earth. Once again Dasaratha outdid himself by giving away a million cows, a hundred million pieces of gold and four times that amount in silver.When he prostrated to Rshyasringa for performing and overseeing the Asvamedha yaga, the sage in turn blessed Dasaratha with four sons who would perpetuate his dynasty.
In the hallowed grounds of the Asvamedha no one was hungry or thirsty. People were persuaded to take the best of foods and gifted the best of clothes. Mounds of food were ever kept ready for the visiting multitudes from cities and countryside. Brahmins, ascetics, Sudras, women, children and even the sick though satiated could not stop eating the exotic foods. Amazed at the unequaled hospitality, people sang praise of Dasaratha.Brahmins built the sacrificial fireplace to the size and manner prescribed in Shastras. Even the bricks used for the construction of fireplaces were made of a special size as per Shastras. The kinds of wood used for the posts where the sacrificial animals were to be secured were also according to prescribed tradition.The sacrificial altar erected in the shape of an eagle dazzled like burnished gold appearing to be a gold winged eagle. The Asvamedha a three-day ritual needed eighteen fireplaces, which were thrice as many as normal.When at the end of the yaga king Dasaratha magnanimous to the core gave away the entire earth to the presiding priests. They protested those noble souls refused to accept that kind of magnanimity saying that the king alone who was pure and cleansed was the supreme ruler and protector of the earth. Once again Dasaratha outdid himself by giving away a million cows, a hundred million pieces of gold and four times that amount in silver.When he prostrated to Rshyasringa for performing and overseeing the Asvamedha yaga, the sage in turn blessed Dasaratha with four sons who would perpetuate his dynasty.