भारतीय इतिहास के ६ स्वर्णिम पृष्ठ (वीर सावरकर - विदेशी आक्रान्ताओं पर विजय गाथा)

straightaway proceeded to announce his success by a magnificent celebration
of the Ashvamedha sacrifice at his capital (p. 212).”
197. This declaration of celebrating a horse-sacrifice by Samrat
Pushyamitra thrilled the whole country, barring the minority community of
the Buddhist with national pride and martial triumph. In the very capital of
Ashoka, who had deprived the Vedic Hindus of their religious freedom by
means of his supreme political authority, was this Ashvamedha of Samrat
Pushyamitra to be performed. This horse-sacrifice of Pushyamitra was, in
fact, a public imperial proclamation of Samrat Pushyamitra, that all the
restrictions imposed by Ashoka on the religious freedom of the Vedic
Hindus were withdrawn.
198. Emperor Pushyamitra’s grandson, Vasumitra, was also a spirited
young prince, as his father, Pushyamitra’s son, Agnimitra was a veteran
army-leader and an efficient royal administrator. When Samrat Pushyamitra
let his sacrificial horse loose on its triumphal march throughout the land, the
task of protecting that horse with a strong army was entrusted to this brave
young grandson, General Vasumitra. The horse was not obstructed in his
free ramble right up to the banks of the Indus. But on the banks of the
Indus, he was opposed by a certain Yavan King which, according to the
conventions of the time, meant that the sovereignty of Pushyamitra was
challenged. So the young General Vasumitra fought with the ‘Yavan’ enemy
and after defeating him completely, got released the ceremonial horse. The
boundless joy that was universally felt in the capital, when after a year the
invincible and unconquered General Vasumitra tiumphantly marched into
the city, can very well be seen in the formal invitation sent by Pushyamitra
to his son, Agnimitra, which is still available to us in almost the very same
words of the Emperor. Kalidas has practically reproduced it verbatim et
literatim in his aforesaid play, ‘Malavikagnimitra.’ That letter in the drama
is so interesting, that everybody might read it with pleasure. It is a living
document of the thoughts of Samrat Pushyamitra and the common feelings
of the people of those triumphant days.
A National Festival
199. The festive occassion of the horse-ceremony was graced with the
presence of the great sages and ascetics of India, Brahmins, well-versed in
all the Vedic lore, the high-born Kshatriya kings and princes, the prominent
officers and administrators of the empire, eminent citizens and leaders in
towns. Patanjali, who was renowned as the greatest of the scholars, and who