Rajasuya () is a śrauta ritual of the Vedic religion. It is ceremony that marks a consecration of a king.[ According to the Puranas, it refers to a great sacrifice performed by a Chakravarti – universal monarch, in which the tributary princes may also take part, at the time of his coronation, as a mark of his undisputed sovereignty.]
Description
The rajasuya is associated with the consecration of a king[ and is prescribed as a ritual to establish a king's sovereignty.][ It involves soma pressing, a chariot drive, the king shooting arrows from his bow, and a symbolic "cattle raid":][ The newly anointed king seizes cattle belonging to his relative, and then gives part of his property to that relative.][ There is a revealing of the tale of Shunahshepa, a boy who was nearly sacrificed to Varuna on behalf of the sonless king Harishchandra, which hints at a rejected archaic practice of human sacrifice.][
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The Shatapatha Brahmana states that the rajasuya was the means by which a Kshatriya may become a king, and is not suitable for Brahmanas.
Historically, the rajasuya was performed by the Indo-Aryan kings, which led to the expansion of their kingdoms during the Iron Age.
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