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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.13.18

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 13: Aśvamedha yajña: The horse’s return and completion of the rites. The returning horse is sacrificed with prescribed posts, a Garuḍa-shaped altar and continual hospitality, Daśaratha rewards the priests and requests the rite for sons

In the sequence: during pauses in the ritual, eloquent scholars debate, seeking to outdo one another → the officiants continue each day's rites, all versed in the six Vedāṅgas, their vows, and learned disputation. The sacrificial posts are prepared from prescribed woods, including six of bilva and six of khadira, further palāśa posts, and posts of śleṣmātaka and devadāru

1.13.18

śleṣmātakamayo diṣṭo devadārumayas tathā
dvāv eva tatra vihitau bāhuvyastaparigrahau

one made of śleṣmātaka wood was prescribed, and likewise one of devadāru (deodar); just two were fixed there, of an arm-span's girth to embrace.

Words: śleṣmātakamayo — made of śleṣmātaka wood; diṣṭo — prescribed, appointed; devadārumayas — made of devadāru (deodar); tathā — likewise; dvāv — two; eva — only, just; tatra — there; vihitau — fixed, set up (two); bāhuvyastaparigrahau — of an arm-span's girth to embrace

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. Sanskrit: The Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa: Critical Edition, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1960–1975 (gen. eds. G. H. Bhatt, U. P. Shah); IAST from GRETIL (Göttingen). Translation and word glosses: Claude Opus 4.6–4.7; summaries and sequences: ChatGPT Astra (machine-made). Numbering follows the Critical Edition, not the vulgate (e.g. Gita Press, valmikiramayan.net), so sarga and verse numbers can differ from those editions.