Moreover, as we just saw, the myth and ritual was present in extremely distant ancient nations of the most diverse peoples: the Hittites, the Irish, the Sumero-Babylonians, the Vedic Aryans, the ancient Greeks, etc.. Its equivalence to the Soma Sacrifice also affords a link with the Eucharist of Judeo-Christianism and with the Persian haoma ritual, to mention just two of an unending series.
Most certainly, the Egyptian myths of the castration and deposing of Osiris by Seth and of Seth by Horus, the son of Osiris, who this avenges his father, belong to the same mythical motif. As we saw above, in a footnote, Osiris, after his castration, was buried inside the Holy Mountain. There, he unendingly celebrates his phallus-less, ritual mating with his consort, Isis, the Great Mother of both gods and men.
This ritual mating of the god and the goddess is known in Hinduism and Tantric Buddhism as the Yabh-Yum, the mystic union of the Father and the Mother in the innermost room of the Celestial Palace, the one inside the Holy Mountain of Paradise. This motif is endlessly reproduced in their mandalas, particularly in those of the Tibetan Buddhists.
The Ashvamedha of King Yudishthira The Horse Sacrifice was the privilege of great monarchs, as it was fabulously expensive and demanding. Its importance can be gauged from the fact that a full chapter (the 14th) of the Mahabharata is dedicated to the ceremony, of which it bears the name. This sacrifice was performed in order to commemorate the victory of Yudishthira and the Pandus in the great war of the Mahabharata.
The reason why the ritual was so expensive is that, through it, the King claimed universal kingship, and thereby declared that he would wage war on all possible opponents. The sacrificial horse was released, and roamed freely through all lands, followed by the royal army. It was an act of open provocation.
Any king who resisted and refused to comply, was forced to fight with the invading army. If he lost or complied, he was invited to the sacrifice, and attended in full pomp and with his full court, at the host s expensive. The whole ritual lasted a full year, and many thousands of persons attended it. Yudishthira s sacrifice was so expensive that he had to send Arjuna to fetch the enormous treasures of Kubera in the Himalayas, in order to finance the expenses.
As we said, the sacrificial horse represented the entire Cosmos. The monarch that ordered the sacrifice was the Universal Monarch (Chakravartin), the ruler of the whole Cosmos. In other words, he was bringing about the Millennium and the Universal Conquest just as does the White Knight of the Book of Revelation. This epoch-making conquest would only end with the death of the old Cosmos represented by that of the sacrificed horse and of its often neglected dual, the goat, its humble dual.
The Goat Sacrifice As we said above, in the ashvamedha a goat was also sacrificed, together with the horse. The two animals probably correspond to the two castrated gods of the above discussed myths. Farther below, we shall see their exact meaning and their connection with Atlantis and the bull sacrifice that was celebrated there, according to Plato.
As the supreme symbol of the victorious Aryans, the horse looms large in the Rig Veda. Celestial gods are often compared to horses there: Indra, Surya, Agni, Soma, etc.. The horse often a flying-horse like Pegasus was also equated to the Sun and to Fire. The humble goat was, instead, the symbol of the defeated Dravidas, who were thereby likened to the infernal asuras.
Indeed, the goat was deemed the sacrificial victim of excellence. It was considered the scapegoat for the dead (RV 10:16) and for the horse of the ashvamedha (RV 1:162). This hymn describes the horse-sacrifice in detail and tells how the horse and his scapegoat are processioned in pomp to the sacrificial spot. The goat is the share of Pushan, an early sun-god who fell into disgrace, whereas the horse is the share of the Celestial gods.
The Symbolism of the Goat and the Horse The Goat and the Horse represent the dual aspects of Creation. They represent, as we already said, the Universe. But, more exactly, they represent the twin Atlantises, as will become clear in what follow below. The Horse is Celestial and supreme, whereas the Goat is Infernal and humble.