Ashvamedhika Parva

Ashvamedhika Parva (Sanskrit: अश्वमेध पर्व), or the "Book of Horse Sacrifice," is the fourteenth of eighteen books of the Indian Epic Mahabharata. It has 2 sub-books and 92 chapters.

Ashvamedhika Parva begins with an advice from Krishna and Vyasa who recommend Yudhishthira to perform the Ashvamedhika ceremony. Yudhishthira discloses that the treasury is empty because of the war. Krishna suggests mining gold in Himavat, near mount Meru. He recites the story of king Muratta. Yudhishthira proceeds with the effort to mine gold, fill his treasury and perform the Ashvamedhika ceremony.

The book includes Anugita parva, over 36 chapters, which Krishna describes as mini Bhagavad Gita. The chapters are recited because Arjuna tells Krishna that he is unable to recollect the wisdom of Bhagavad Gita in the time of peace, and would like to listen to Krishna's wisdom again. Krishna recites Anugita - literally, Subsequent Gita - as a dialogue between a Brahmin's wife and Brahma. Scholars have suggested Anugita to be a spurious addition to Ashvamedhika Parva in medieval times, and a corruption of the original Mahabharata.

Ashvamedhika Parva (book) has 2 sub-parvas (sub-books or little books) and 92 adhyayas (sections, chapters). The two sub-parvas are:

The Parva narrates the royal ceremony of the Ashvamedha initiated by Yudhishthira, after recommendations of Krishna. The ceremony is a year-long event where the horse roams any land in any direction it wishes to. The horse is followed by an army led by Arjuna, whose mission is to challenge any ruler who objects the free movement of the horse. This ceremony establishes the primacy of Yudhishthira as the emperor, and his recognition by other rulers and kingdoms. At the end of the year, victorious Arjuna's army and the horse return to the emperor's capital, and the horse is sacrificed before many kings.

The Anugita sub-parva recites a restatement of Bhagavad Gita teachings by Krishna to Arjuna. However, its authenticity and origins have been questioned by scholars. The various manuscripts of the Mahabharata discovered in India in early to mid 19th century, show inconsistencies in the 36 Chapters of Anugita, including the name itself. The so-called Bombay manuscripts further splits the Anugita into Anugita, Vasudevagamana, Brahma Gita, Brahmana Gita, Gurusishya samvada and Uttankopakhyana. The Madras, Calcutta and Ahmedabad manuscripts give different names. Hall suggests Anugita may have been composed and inserted into the original sometime during the 16th or 17th century AD.

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