Abhiṣeka (Abhisheka; Coronation) was a matter of high importance in the Vedic period. In Brāhmaṇa-texts, the description of this ceremony became more important than in Rāmāyaṇa (Ramayana) or Mahābhārata (Mahabharata). Moreover, the names of some famous kings of Sūryavaṃśa (Suryavamsa; The Solar Dynasty) or Candravaṃśa (Chandravamsa; The Lunar Dynasty) can be found in these Brāhmaṇa-texts, and the names become historical.This is to be mentioned that in the Vedic period, the performance of Rājasūya (Rajasuya), Aśvamedha (Aswamedha) or Vājapeya yajña (Vajapeya yajna), after the king’s coronation and conquering many countries, was associated with the ceremony of Abhiṣeka. So the Abhiṣeka of those kings who have performed such yajñs, have been mentioned especially in the Brāhmaṇa texts. In Mahābhārata (Mahabharata) we have heard the great achievements of Bharata, son of Duṣyanta —
bharatād bhāratī kīrtiḥ.
The Pāṇḍava(s) and Kaurava(s) were born in the lineage of Bharata. This Bharata performed Aśvamedha yajña one hundred and thirty three Aśvamedha yajñas, and after his first performance of Aśvamedha yajña, sage Dīrghatamā completed his coronation. Likewise, sage Tura Kāvaṣeya completed the abhiṣeka of Pārīkṣita (Parikshita; son of Parikshit) Janamejaya, Cyavana Bhārgava completed the coronation of Śaryāta. Vaśṭha Sudāṣa performed the coronation of Paijavana. Nārada-Parvata did it for king Āmvaṣṭhya (Amvasthya), and Sage Saṃvarta Āṅgirasa (Samvarta Angirasa) performed the Abhiṣeka of king Marutta.
In general, the abhiṣeka as described in the Brāhmaṇa-texts, was a part of Vaidika Rājasūya yajña. This continued for five days, and the day on which one had to be initiated for performing the yajña, was the first day of the month of Caitra, after the passing of Kṛṣṇpakṣa following the full-moon night of Phālguna (Phalguna). On the first day of yajña, an offering was to be made to eight gods. The common epithet for these gods is ‘devasva’ — that is, each of them possesses some special power, and with that power the enhance the power of the king to be coronated. Their attributes are thus thus transferred to the king. The mantra(s) chosen for these gods are also in keeping with these special attributes, that help to embolden that particular quality in the king. For instance, Savitā Sūrya is called Satyaprasava He creates in the king the power to remain constant in truth. According to the followers of Veda, Agni is called Gṛhapati (Grihapati). Offering ahūti to him, prior to the Abhiṣeka, denotes the king’s control over all that is gārhapatya — household matters. Soma is Vanaspati, the lord of vegetations. He initiates the king’s responsibility in the development and preservation of natural vegetation and agriculture. Vṛhaspati (Vrihaspati) is in charge of oration, he will develop in the king the power of speech. Rudra is Paśupati (Pasupati), he ensures the development of the godhana (cattles as property) of the king. Mitra, like Savitā, ensures the king’s truthfulness. And at the end there is Varuṇa, who is the lord of Dharma. Dharma here means law, order, justice and discipline.

An offering to Varuṇa not only establishes the king as an ‘upholder of justice’, but also grants him the power to do good to the syubjects, which is Rājadharma (Rajadharma; duties of a king).

After these āhūti(s) offered by the king, the Ṛtvik(s) (Ritwik; the priests of  )goes on chanting aloud — “O gods! help this kind to be without rivals, make him prosper without enemies, speed up his way to become the chief, to establish his control over everything, to spread his rule over all the people.–
imaṃ devā asapatnaṃ suvaddhvaṃ itīmaṃ devā abhrātṛvyaṃ ityaivaitadāha mahate kṣatrāya mahate jaiṣṭhyāyati, nātra tirohitamivāsti mahate jānarājyāyeti mahate janānāṃ rājyāyeti…

After performing maṅgalāśaṃśana (benediction) for the king, the priest declares — “He is your king, and Soma is our king, he is the king of Brāhmaṇa(s).After this declaration comes the phase of abhiṣeka snāna. The king is bathed with waters brought from seventeen sacred sources , these are river-water, pond-water, f,lowing-water sea-water, water of well, dew, rain-water and many other kinds of water — even including stagnant water of a decayed pond. But the most important is the water of river Sarasvatī, which must be collected at first —
sa sarasvatīreva prathamā gṛhnāti.

All these kinds of water are to be collected in a container of Udumvara wood, and these are to be poured upon the head of the king, to complete the abhiṣeka. But before that the water collected in the container of Audumvara wood is to be divided in four parts,. Some water is to be kept in a container of Palāśa wood, some water will remain in the Audumvara container itself, some water is to be kept in a container of nyāgrodha of banyan tree, and the rest is to be kept in a container of Aśvatthva. The Brāhmaṇa will pour water from the container of audumvara, and someone closely related to the king, a kṣatria himself, will pour water from the container of nyāgrodha.

A friendly king who is an ally, will bathe him in the water of nyāgrodha container, and a Vaiśya will bathe him in the water from the container of Aśvattha wood.

In this abhiṣeka process for Rājasūya yajña, the chief queen was also bathed likewise. It is not clearly mentioned in Mahābhārata, but when Draupadī became ‘won’ as a bait, there is an indirect mention of this. Duḥśāsana came to drag her to the court. She tried to escape, and Duḥśāsana started dragging her by the hair. At this point, the poet of Mahābhārata has commented, this is that long hair, that was bathed in the sacred water at the time of the great Rājasūya yajña –
ye rājasūyāvabhṛthe jalena mahakratau mantrapūtena siktāḥ
It is clear from the poet’s comment that at the time of Rājasūya yajña, Draupadī was also bathed for abhiṣeka.
The abhiṣeka of a king does not end with his being bathed in abhiṣeka-water. In fact, abhiṣeka is a kind of second birth for the king. At this time, the garments and coronet are taken symbolically as the containing womb. After the abhiṣeka-bathing, the Yajurvedic priest or Adhvaryu hands three arrows over to the king — as symbolic of power, strength and adminstration.

vīryaṃ vā etad rājanyasya yaddhanurvīryavantamabhiṣiñcānīti.

After this, the king needs to take a vow. The Ṛtvik-priests who, as representative of all people, performed the abhiṣeka of the king, tell him – “If you commit any offence, all your virtues will be mine. In response, the king also says, if I commit anything unjust, all my fruits of virtue will be gone, I should be deprived of all my virtues, and my righteous deeds, my life and my lineage will be ended.

The reason of this oath-taking was to engage the king always in doing good to the subjects.
Now the corronated king is made to step upon a tiger-skin, which is the symbol of power and strength. a piece of gold is placed under his feet, and another piece of gold is kept upon his head. After that the king boards a chariot and casts an arrow. Then he goes to the four directions of the yajña place, and thus his victory over all the directions is denoted. After that, the corronated king, along with his wife, comes to the yajña-altar, and at that time, he becomes equal with Prajāpatai, as the child of Prajāpati. Looking at the mother earth, he says — “O mother! Never become hostile to me, as I am not hostile to you”. Yet the earth is a bit afraid, thinking that he is now powerful, he can do harm to me if he likes. In this way, through fear and anxiety, the bonding is established between mother and son. But ultimately, a mother cannot be antagonistic to a son, nor can a son be antagonistic to the mother.

na hi mātā putraṃ hinanti na putro mātaram

Now the king descends from the chariot and a symbolic game of dicing takes place. The dice is thrown in such a manner that king becomes the winner.In Mahābhārata, we have not seen this game of dicing at the time of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rājasūya yajña. But after the yajña, this dicing took place out of Duryodhana’s jealousy. King Dhṛtarāṣṭra referred to this game of dicing as ‘suhṛddyūta’ (friendly game of dicing). We can say that the symbolic game of dicing which did not take place after the Rājasūya yajña, should have taken place in this Suhṛddyūta, and then Yudhisṭhira’s abhiṣeka would have been complete. But this did not happen and that was why it turned into a baiting game, and he had to go to the forest, along with his family.

However, the symbolic victory in the game of dicing means the king has thus established his administration over all the people.. After this, the king ascends the throne, which is known as ‘Āsandī’ in Vedic terms. In fact, this Āsandī was symbolic of the entire state. According to Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, this seat would be made of khadira wood, and According to Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, it will be made of Udumvara wood. The legs of this Āsandī would be about one arm’s length. the supporting portion at the back would be about two arms’ length, and the handles would be twice the wrist in width. The seating place would be woven with munja grass, and it would be covered with a tiger-skin– which was representative of the empire — āsandīvat vai sāmrājyam.

Another tiger-skin was placed under his feet. After the coronated king takes his seat, the priest says to the king , ‘Look, my son, the responsibility of this kingdom is given to you not for your personal prosperity, or for the development of your own family. The kingdom is assigned to your duty — for the development of agriculture, for the benefit of all subjects, for the protection of all of them —
iyaṃ te rāt … yantāsi yamano… dhruvio’si dharuṇaḥ
kṣyai tvā kṣmāya tvā rayai tvā poṣāya tvā.

The priest then puts his hand upon the breast of the king and starts saying that “He has ascended the throne with a vrata of doing good to the subjects, he is the upholder and carrier of dharma. Now he will not do everything, nor will he say anything. He will say and do only that is permissible to ethics and justice  —

dhṛtavrata vai rāja, na vā eṣa sarvasmā
iva vadanāya sarvasmā iva karmaṇe,
yadeva sādhu vadet, yat sādhu kuryāt.

In general, abhiṣeka means taking a bath. In Mahābhārata, the term is repeatedly mentioned as associated with taking bath in rivers and river-pilgrimages, but the meaning which has become commonly associated with it, is part of a traditional initiation for performing a Vedic yajña, that is, Rājasūya yajña. There are some special yajñas mentioned in the Vedic Brāhmaṇa texts. These are Rājasūya, Vājapeya Aśvamedha, Vṛhaspatisava, Sautrāmaṇi and Puruṣamedha. These yajña(s) were associated with the political and monarchic system of those days. Even if one ascends the throne by inheritance, and is well-accepted by the ministers and subject, one has to go through certain ritualistic processes. The Abhiṣeka -procedure is part of this ritual. And it was formalised through Rājasūya yajña. So in the Brāhmaṇa texts it is said that one becomes a king by performing Rājasūya yajña, and a king achieves the status of Samrāṭ by performing Vājapeya yajña —
rājā vai rājasūyeneṭvā havati samrāḍvājapeyena.

However, the Abhiṣeka has later been defined as a separate process in Mahābhārata , Rāmāyaṇa and Purāṇa. The reason was simple. Except big and powerful kingdoms there were so many small states and kingdoms in India, and the kings of those lands did not have the military and financial power to perform Rājasūya yajña(s). Yet they cloud ascend the throne. In that case, Abhiṣeka simply carried the point of legal recognition as a king. A great proof of this practice could be found in Mahābhārata, when Sūtaputra Karṇa, as son of Adhiratha, challenged the military skills of Arjuna. To avoid any bitter accident, Kṛpācārya tried to resit Karṇa, pouring insults upon him, saying that there can be no duel between a man of low origin and a prince. Karṇa felt insulted, then Duryodhana performs his Abhiṣeka as the king of Aṅgarājya, maintaining the minimum requirements of the ritual. In this case, there was no need of performing Rājasūya yajña. Simply, he was made to stand upon a golden stool. In this brief ritual, some brāhmaṇa(s) poured salāja-kusuma, that is, flowers, puffed rice from a container full of water, and he was coronated the king of Aṅga.

At that very moment, Adhiratha entered the ground, and Karṇa bowed to him, with head wet with the water of abhiṣeka —
tatastasminkṣaṇe karṇa salāja-kusumairghaṭiḥ
kāñcanaiḥ kāñcane pīṭhe mantravidbhirmahārathaḥ
abhiṣikto’ṅgarājye sa śriyā yukto mahāvalaḥ.

The Rājasūya yajña is full of so many digressive accounts that we can’t locate a properand definite time for the Abhiṣeka. When it should be the time for the commencement of the yajña, after the chantings uttered by Ṛtvik(s) and priests, description of other incidents come forward to divert our attention. At one point, it is found that, Duryodhana, watching the grandeur of Yudhiṣṭhira’s court-building built by Maya, describes that Kṛṣṇa was pouring water on the head of Yudhiṭhira from a golden container, and he was also blowing a maṅgalaśṅkha (a blessed conch)–
śankhapravaramādāya vāsudevobhiṣiktavān.
In another place, Duryodhana, out of envy, is informing Dhṛarāṣṭra that kings of several kingdoms had brought containers — big and small, for the abhiṣeka ritual, and they kept these at the venue of abhiṣeka. It is also to be noted that they did it on their own accord.
ājahrustatra satkṛtya svayamudyamya bhārata
abhiṣekārthamavyāgra bhāṇḍmuccāvacaṃ nṛpaḥ.

After this, we can see that Dhaumya, the family-priest of the Pāṇḍava(s), keeping Nārada and sage Devala on the forefront, along with Vyāsa, was bathing Yudhiṭhira with the sacred water especially kept for abhiṣkka, and other sages and brāhmaṇa(s), learned in Veda(s) were standing to watch.
abhiṣiñcattato dhaumyo vyāsaśca sumahātapāḥ
nāradaṃvai puraṣkṛtya devalañca mahāmuniṃ
prītimanta upātiṣṭhannabhiṣekaṃ maharṣayaḥ
jāmadagnyena sahitastathānye vedapāragāḥ.
We can assume that the description of Kṛṣṇa pouring water upon Yudhiṣthira’s head, actually took place after the ‘formal’ abhiṣeka performed by Dhaumya and Vyāsa. However, because of the Pāṇḍavas relationship of love and intimacy with Kṛṣṇa, the mention of Kṛṣṇa came first.

In Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata, there are several mentions of the term abhiṣeka, and it is said that the abhiṣeka of some king is being performed. But in these two Mahākāvya(s), the detailed and disciplined description of abhiṣeka, as narrated in the earlier Brāhmaṇa-texts, cannot be found. However, there are some description about the equipments used in abhiṣka, and something is written about the process as well. In Mahābhārata, when Yudhiṣṭhira finally agreed to ascend the throne after many requests and insistence, he was made to sit, facing the east, on a golden seat. The other four brothers, Kṛṣṇa, Sañjaya, Gāndhārī also sat upon well-decked seats of made gold and ivory.Sudharmā, the priest of Duryodhana, Dhaumya, the priest of Yudhiṣṭhira, Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Vidura also took their seats.

Sitting on the golden seat, Yudhiṣṭhira touched one by one — white flower, svastika, akṣata, soil of different tīrtha(s), gold, silver and jewels.Then citizens, preceded by Dhaumya brought a container full of māṅgalik equipments such as curd, dūrvā, came to visit Yudhiṣṭhira. There ere also such māṅgalik elements as the dust of holy places, gold, jewels and kumkum and cohl. For the abhiṣeka of Yudhiṣṭhira, several pitchers made of gold, copper, silver and and clay.

Along with the pitchers, there were brought such equipments as flowers, puffed rice, kuśa, cow-milk, samidha (piece of wood used for yajña) of Palāśa, Aśvattha and Śamī. Honey. ghee, a small śruva (a small container with handle, to draw melted ghee) and a śṃkha bedecked with gold — these were also brought to the place of abhiṣka.

Since Yudhiṣṭhira agreed to ascend the throne finally at the insistence of Kṛṣṇa, it was under his guidance that the abhiṣeka procedure took place. So, with his permission, Dhaumya prepared an altar at a place, where the northern and the eastern sides were somewhat low. After the preparation of the altar, the priest performed homa upon it. Then Yudiṣṭhira was made to sit on a throne called Sarvatobhadra, along with Kṛṣṇā Draupadī. The legs ofthis were strong, and the place of sitting was covered with a tiger skin. The entire place was glowing with grace and elegance.

Then Kṛṣṇa stood up. Filling up his famous Pñcajanya śaṃkha with water, he poured that blessed water over Yudhiṭhira’s head. Then Dhṛtarāṣṭra and other citizens also bathed Yudhiṣṭhira in water, After his abhiṣeka was complete, king Yudjiṣṭhira partook of the yajñeśeṣa (residual meal after the yajña) along with his brothers. The musicians were playing such beating instruments as Ānaka (Anaka), Dundubhi and Paṇava. Dhaumya and other priests blessed Yudhiṣṭhira, uttering words of beatification.

Yudhiṣṭhira, accepting nirmālya as their token of blessings, honoured them with ample dakṣiṇā. also pleased the brāhmaṇa(s), giving each of them a golden mohar as dakṣinā. The abhiṣeka-place was filled up with utterances of svasti and ‘hail’ to the king, denoting his triumph. All the citizens were praising him with svasti-vacana.

As in Mahābhārata, the Rājasūya yajña was overshadowed with other incidents, and so we could not find a proper description of Yudhiṣṭhira’s abhiṣeka, in Rāmāyaṇa, too, the abhiṣeka of Rāma was disturbed by Kaikeyī’s demand of her boons, that we can only hear about the arrangements of Abhiṣeka. The abhiṣeka could not take place. In Ayodhyākāṇḍa, just after the announcement of abhiṣeka, Vaśiṣṭha and Vāmadeva (Vamadeva), as per the wishes expressed by Daśaratha, ordered the ministers to collect such equipments as gold, silver, several jewels, things required for ritual worship, several oṣadhi, a number of garlands made of white flowrs, ghee, honey, puffed rice, several new clothes, chariot, weapons caturaṅga army, elephants with good characteristics, one hundred golden ghaṭa(s), an ox, with its two horns decked with gold, an unsevered tiger-skin and many other things. The next day the abhiṣka would be performed, so Rāma was advised to remain in discipline and ritual austerity along with his wife. It was also said that the entire city of Ayodhyā was to be decorated on this occasion.

In Rāmāyaṇa, the abhiṣka of Rāma could not be complete, he had to go into exile before that. After gaining victory over Laṅkā, when he came back to Ayodhyā,  Bharata instructed Sugrīva (Sugriva) so that his swift-pacing followers can collect water for abhiṣeka from sacred rivers. Sugrīva instructed his followers accordingly, so that they could bring water by early dawn the next day. The major Vānara(s) — Hanumān, Vegadarśī, Ṛṣbha and Jāmvavān brought water, filling up pitchers from sacred rivers. Suṣeṇa brought water from the Eastern Sea, Ṛṣabha from the Southern Sea, Gavaya from the Western Sea and Hanumān from the Northern Sea. At the time of Abhiṣeka, as per the instruction of Sage Vaśiṣṭha, Rāmacandra and Sītā were placed on golden seats , embellished with jewels. Then Vaśiṣṭha, Vijaya, Jāvāli (Javali), Kāśyapa (Kasyapa), Kātyāyana (Katyayana), Gautama and Vāmadeva poured Abhiṣeka water upon the head of Rāma. Since Rāma had been in exile for a long time, he had grown matted locks all over his head. So, after entering Ayodhyā, his locks were cut off, and he, along with Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa, was decked with expensive jewellery. Now they moved across the city, riding on chariots. At this time, there was the declaration of Rāma’s abhiṣeka, as discussed by the ministers like Aśoka, Vijaya, Siddhārtha. They started talking about Rāma’s conquest of Laṅkā, and the preparation for his Abhiṣeka. Then the formal abhiṣeka was initiated by Bharata.

After the sages poured water upon the head of Rāma, the Ṛtvik(s), Brāhmaṇa(s) and priests, ministers, and other citizens too, performed the abhiṣeka of Rāma. The gods also participated in the abhiṣeka procedure. Vaśiṣṭha placed upon his head that traditional coronet, which was given to his forefather Manu, by God Brahmā. Śatrughna held the royal umbrella over his head. Sugrīva and Vibhīṣaṇa (Vibhishana) started fanning him with cāmara (chamara, a special kind of fan made of animal-tail).

In Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata, from whatever details we have received regarding Abhiṣeka, it becomes clear that the yājñik grandeur associated with the Vedic status of the ritual, later got incorporated into the scriptural processes of the age of Mahākāvya. In the incorporation of such things as flower, garland, puffed rice, new clothes, ghaṭa — these reinforce the popularistic image abhiṣeka-parva . After this, in Agnipurāṇa, we are going to have a detailed description of Abhiṣeka, covering two chapters. There it can be found that the Vedic rituals of Abhiṣeka was not altogether rejected, rather those rituals had been transferred to other scriptural processes.

In Agnipurāṇa it is said that a king can take one full year to complete his abhiṣeka but abhiṣeka must be performed within a year. Perhaps the Purāṇa-authority is suggesting that some time should be given for a new king’s settlement and gaining stability. But if a ruling king dies suddenly, there must be immediately performed the abhiṣeka of a new king, without regard for tithi , nakṣatra or a suitable astrological time.

kuryānmṛte nṛpe nātra kālasya niyamaḥ smṛtaḥ.

It appears that behind this decision of Agnipurāṇa, there is a Rāmāyaṇa-based idea at work. In Rāmāyaṇa, when king Daśaratha passed away on the sixth day of Rāma’s going into exile, the ministers and priests, considering the dangers of a land without a king, planned to bring Bharata immediately from his maternal uncle’s house, and perform his abhiṣeka. This thought of abhiṣeka could be a preliminary idea of the Paurānika verdict. In the same way, the Aindra śānti-vidhāna prescribed in Agnipurāṇa has some resonance with Aindra mahābhiṣeka escribed in the Brāhmaṇa texts.

Before the abhiṣeka , the king would proclaim his benevolence all over the kingdom, and declare freedom for the prisoners in distress.

On the day of abhiṣeka, the king will be on fast from the morning, and offer homa-svastayana in the holy fire (burning in the yajñavedī), uttering Vaiṣṇava, Aindra, Yācitra, Vaiśvadaivata and Saumya mantra. A golden pitcher would be placed at the right side of the fire, and it should be worshipped with Aparājita mantra and fragrant flowers. In this context, following the Brāhmaṇa texts, Viṣṇudharmottara Purāṇa, has mentioned  such mantras as Svastayana, Āyuṣya, Abhaya and Aparājita, and also many other procedures — and this is basically in pursuation of what has been said in Agnipurāṇa.

Viṣṇudharmottara Purāṇa has uttered about 182 mantra(s) related to abhiṣeka, citing Agnipurāṇa. There are hymns dedicated to Brahmā, all nakṣtra, oṣadhi, fourteen Manu(s), eleven Rudra(s), the Viśvedeva(s), Gandharva, Apsarā, Dānava, Dākinī, Nāga, Pakṣī (Pakshi; Birds), Sages and famous kings of former days (such as Pṛthu, Dilīpa, Bharata, and so on), along with the Veda(s) and rivers.

For performing the ritual śodhana of the head and several limbs the would-be king, it is said in Agnipurāṇa that soil should be brought from several places – soil of shrines, soil lifted by ivory, soil lifted by the horns of an ox, soil attached to the wheel of a chariot, soil of a yajña-place, soil from the door of a prostitute. It is said that Pañcagavya will be required for the śodhana of the head. At the time of abhiṣeka, among the four amātya(s) (ministers) — the brāhmaṇ amātya, standing on the east will pour ghee from a golden pitcher, upon the king’s head, the kṣatriya amātya, standing at the south, will pour milk from a pitcher made of silver, the vaiśya amātya will pour curd from a pitcher of copper, standing at the west, and the śudra amātya will pour water from an earthen pitcher. At the same time, a vahvaka brāhmaṇa will pour honey upon the head of the king; and a Chāndoga brāhmaṇa pours kuśa-water occasionally. At the end, the priest would give orders to the members of the court, regarding the maintenance of the holy fire, and perform the abhiṣeka.
This priest would go to the base of the altar and take oṣadhi from a golden plaque perforated with hundreds of holes, and perform the abhiṣeka with utterance of mantra(s), then the abhiṣeka would continue with fragrant flowers, vīja (vija, seeds), ratna (jewel) and kuśa-water. At that time, the Yajurvedic and Atharvavedic brāhmaṇa would touch the king. Other brāhmaṇa(s) would smear the king’s head with gorocana and water from all the sacred pilgrimages. Music and instruments would continue. It is then the king’s duty to worship Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Indra and other gods and deities of the planets. Then he will cast his eyes upon a mirror, ghee and other blessed objects. Now the priest will sit on a bed or cot, where a tiger-skin is spread over the bed. Sitting there, he will prepare the seat of the king , covering it with madhuparka and other things, and hand the coronet over to the king, with five kinds of animal skins. The seat of the king will also be made of these five types of skins, namely vṛṣaja (skin of a bull, symbol of power), vṛṣadaṃśaja (skin of a cat), dvīpija (skin of an elephant), siṃhaja (skin of a lion) and vyāghraja (skin of a tiger). After the abhiṣeka, the corronated king will sit on this seat. After the abhiṣeka is performed completely, the king will go out to visit the city on horseback, along with his ministers and soldiers.