Ashvamedhika Parva

Overview

Yudhishtira performs the Ashvamedha Yagna to cleanse the sins of the war. The wandering sacrificial horse leads Arjuna to various battles, including a fateful encounter with his son Babhruvahana. The Parva also contains the Anu Gita, Krishna's second discourse to Arjuna, and the story of the mongoose who questions the value of the sacrifice.

Key Events

• 1
  The Horse Sacrifice

  Following Bhishma's passing, the epic returns to the narrative of rebuilding. Sage Vyasa advises Yudhishtira to perform the massively expensive Ashvamedha Yagna (Horse Sacrifice) to spiritually cleanse the kingdom of the sins of war.

• 2
  Recovering the Abandoned Gold

  To finance this unimaginably costly operation, the Pandavas undertake arduous journeys into the high Himalayas to recover a legendary, unimaginably vast hoard of gold abandoned by an ancient king.

• 3
  The Anu Gita

  In a quiet, deeply intimate moment, Krishna recites the 'Anu Gita' to an forgetful Arjuna, attempting to restate and summarize the core philosophical tenets of the Bhagavad Gita now that the immediate threat of war has passed.

• 4
  Following the Consecrated Horse

  A magnificent consecrated horse is unleashed to roam freely across the continent for an entire year; Arjuna is tasked with following it, violently crushing any kingdom that dares to halt its progress.

• 5
  Defeat by Babruvahana

  Arjuna engages in numerous skirmishes with the surviving descendants of the kings he killed at Kurukshetra; in a striking twist of fate, he is actually defeated in combat by his own highly skilled, estranged son, Babruvahana, before being revived.

• 6
  Conclusion of Ashvamedha Yagna

  The horse completes its circuit and the Ashvamedha Yagna is successfully concluded in Hastinapura, formally cementing Yudhishtira's undisputed status as the supreme Chakravarthi (Emperor) of the post-war world.

Key Characters Introduced

Philosophical Themes

• The value of sacrifice
• The cycle of violence continuing
• The futility of pride in ritual
• The nature of true giving