Rajasuya

Royal consecration ceremony that is
one of the most famous of the sacrificial
rites that appear in the Vedas, the earliest and most authoritative Hindu religious texts. The ceremony is believed to
have developed in the latter part of the
Vedic era. Preparations for this rite could
last for a year, and the rite itself served
to raise the king to semidivine status. As
with many Vedic sacrifices, an important part of the rajasuya sacrifice was
the ritual slaughter and offering of animals. This rite has long fallen into disuse, partly because of the trouble
required to prepare for it and partly
because of general disapproval over animal sacrifices. The coronation rite that
has replaced it is the rajabhiseka.