Rajasuya (rājasūya)

The Rajasuya is the royal consecration sacrifice by which a king claims paramountcy over other kings, who must be defeated or persuaded to attend and bring tribute. Yudhishthira's Rajasuya at Indraprastha requires his brothers to campaign in four directions and Krishna to engineer the death of Jarasandha, and it ends with Shishupala's beheading when he refuses to accept Krishna as the honoured guest. The rite makes the Pandavas supreme and makes Duryodhana's envy unbearable, which leads directly to the dice game.