Ashvamedhika Parva— The Book of the Horse Sacrifice
The Ashvamedhika Parva, the fourteenth book of the Mahabharata, tells how Yudhishthira purifies his reign with the great horse sacrifice, and includes a second telling of the Gita’s wisdom.
Atonement for the war
To expiate the bloodshed of Kurukshetra and to affirm his sovereignty, Yudhishthira undertakes the Ashvamedha, the ancient horse sacrifice. A consecrated horse is set free to roam for a year; whatever lands it crosses must either submit or fight, and Arjuna follows as its guardian.
Arjuna’s wanderings
Arjuna’s journey takes him through many kingdoms and many battles, some against old enemies and former allies. In Manipura he faces his own son Babhruvahana, who strikes him down; the boy’s stepmother, the serpent-princess Ulupi, restores Arjuna to life with a celestial gem. Everywhere the rite re-knits the torn fabric of the realm.
The Anugita
Before the sacrifice, Arjuna confesses that in the years since the war he has forgotten much of the great teaching Krishna gave him on the battlefield. Krishna gently retells its essence in what is known as the Anugita — the “after-song” — recalling the immortality of the soul, the discipline of action, and the path of inner freedom first revealed in the Bhagavad Gita. The book also tells of the birth of Parikshit, Abhimanyu’s son, revived in the womb by Krishna to continue the royal line.
The Ashvamedhika Parva is a book of healing: through sacrifice, pilgrimage and renewed teaching, the wounds of war begin to close, and the kingdom is restored to dharma under a chastened and devoted king.