Book 14 of 18 · The Mahabharata

Ashvamedhika Parva

आश्वमेधिक पर्व

Āśvamedhika Parva

The Book of the Horse Sacrifice

What is the Ashvamedhika Parva?

The Ashvamedhika Parva (आश्वमेधिक पर्व) is the fourteenth of the eighteen books of the Mahabharata. Its name means “Book of the Horse Sacrifice”, and this site tells 26 stories drawn from it.

Ashvamedhika Parva Summary

To expiate the killing of kinsmen, Yudhishthira performs the ashvamedha, releasing a sacrificial horse to wander for a year with Arjuna following it as its guardian. Arjuna fights the kings through whose lands it passes, and at Manipura is struck down by his own son Babhruvahana before being revived by a naga jewel. Krishna restores the stillborn Parikshit, last of the Kuru line, killed in the womb by Ashvatthama's weapon. The book also holds the Anugita, Krishna's quieter restatement of the Gita for Arjuna, and closes with the mongoose whose golden head declares a poor man's handful of barley worth more than the whole imperial rite.

What This Book Is About

  • atonement
  • sacrifice
  • succession
  • the Anugita
  • true giving

Sub-Books (Upaparvas) of the Ashvamedhika Parva

The Mahabharata divides itself into one hundred upaparvas; 2 of them belong to this book.

  1. Ashvamedhika ParvaThe horse sacrificeSub-book 91 of 100
  2. Anugita ParvaThe after-song, Krishna's post-war restatement of the Gita's teachingSub-book 92 of 100

Stories from the Ashvamedhika Parva

26 stories on this site are told inside this book, in canonical reading order.

  1. The Horse SacrificeArjuna Follows a Wandering Horse, and Dies at His Own Son's Hand 23 min
  2. The AnugitaThe Gita After the Gita 5 min
  3. Uttanka's CloudsThe Sage Who Nearly Cursed God
  4. The Revival of ParikshitThe Act of Truth 6 min
  5. The Last Son of KarnaVrishaketu, the Boy the Pandavas Raised in Their Brother's Place 22 min
  6. The Mongoose and the SacrificeThe Gift That Outweighed an Empire's Rite 11 min
  7. The Naked Priest of VaranasiHow a king outbid Indra for a brother nobody wanted 31 min
  8. The Battle No One Else Can FightKrishna names the enemies still living in Yudhishthira's flesh 16 min
  9. The Fires Inside the BodyA wife asks what her husband's stillness is worth 21 min
  10. Where the Kingdom EndsA sentence of exile that its author could not locate 18 min
  11. The Eight Who Questioned BrahmaThe ladder from the Unmanifest down to a body 21 min
  12. The Earrings of MadayantiA pupil grown old, and a bargain with a man-eating king 19 min
  13. The News Krishna Held BackA grandfather is spared until his daughter refuses it 16 min
  14. The Horse Goes SouthEkalavya's son, and the day Dwaraka grabbed the bridle 17 min
  15. The Sacrifice of Profuse GoldYudhishthira gives away the earth and is given it back 19 min
  16. The Rain Agastya Did Not NeedTwelve years of drought against one sage's seeds 16 min
  17. The Adhwaryu and the YatiA wandering ascetic stops at a sacrifice and asks the priest who gave the goat his consent 14 min
  18. Arjuna's Hymn at PartingOn the road to Hastinapur, Arjuna praises Krishna and gives him leave to go home 16 min
  19. The Kings Who Gave LawfullyIndra refuses the Rishis, a king answers too quickly, and the names of those who reached heaven by honest gifts 18 min
  20. Subhadra of DwarakaSister, wife, and guardian of the line
  21. Uttaraa, Mother of the Last HeirA girl's widowhood and a dynasty's thread
  22. Dussala, the Only SisterWhat women inherit from men's wars
  23. Ulupi's Long DesignThe wife who arranged her husband's death to save him
  24. The Perfected One at the DoorA brahmana asks what the soul is walking through
  25. The Horse Among Old EnemiesArjuna's year of merciful battles
  26. The Gold of King MaruttaHow the ruined victors paid for the ashvamedha

Where This Book Sits

The Ashvamedhika Parva is book 14 of the eighteen parvas. It follows the Anushasana Parva, the book of the instructions. The Ashramavasika Parva, the book of the hermitage, comes next.

See all eighteen parvas of the MahabharataFollow the epic as a timeline