Vajapeya
वाजपेय
Imperial yajnas performed only by a consecrated king to mark sovereignty, succession, or paramount status — historically the apex of Vedic ritual.
Category
Royal / imperial yajna
Duration
17
Priests required
17 ritviks
Purpose
A high-status soma sacrifice historically performed by a king or brahmana of paramount standing — distinguished from agnishtoma by the inclusion of a ritual chariot-race, a symbolic ascent of a sacrificial post (yupa), and the offering of seventeen prescribed oblations. Successful performance was held to elevate the patron to the rank of samrat.
Deities invoked
- • Prajapati
- • Indra
- • Brihaspati
- • Surya
Mantra source
Shukla Yajurveda 9.20, Krishna Yajurveda Taittiriya Samhita 1.7, Shatapatha Brahmana 5.1, Apastamba Shrauta Sutra 18
Material offerings
- • Pressed soma juice (in seventeen prescribed cups)
- • Ghee
- • Rice cakes
- • Parched grain
- • A bound goat at the constituent pashu (in the historical form)
- • A chariot and prescribed chariot-race appurtenances
Items listed are those prescribed in the Shrauta texts. This page does not provide procedural instruction.
Modern status
Not performed in any living tradition today
Not practiced in its full Shrauta form today. The name occasionally appears in the titles of revivalist multi-day Vedic gatherings, but the historical seventeen-day rite with its chariot-race and animal-offering components is unattested in any continuing lineage.
Historical significance
The Vajapeya is one of the seven classical soma sacrifices (Agnishtoma, Atyagnishtoma, Ukthya, Shodashin, Vajapeya, Atiratra, Aptoryama) and historically ranked second only to the Rajasuya among consecratory yajnas of high status. It is unusual in the Vedic corpus for including a chariot-race as a structural element. This entry is a scriptural and historical reference; the full Shrauta form is not performed in living tradition.