English

Alternative forms

• Ashwamedha

Proper noun

Ashvamedha

1. (Hinduism) One of the most important Vedic sacrificial rituals, and name of the Rigvedic hymns 1.162-163 which deal with horse sacrifice.
   • 1996, Jayant Gadkari, Society and Religion: From Rugveda to Puranas. p. 32:

     A peculiar verse in the Yajurvedic Ashvamedha tells us that in the sacrifices that were performed by the devas, Agni was the horse, and he conquered the earth (23/17). The idea of using the Ashvamedha horse for extending the rule to the neighbouring territories arose from this.