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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.13.24

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: the priests assign the sacrificial creatures to their respective devatās, including birds, serpents, aquatic creatures, and the horse → three hundred animals are bound to the posts along with Daśaratha's excellent horse. Kausalyā circles the horse and cuts it with three knives, with great joy

1.13.24

uragāḥ pakṣiṇaś caiva yathāśāstraṃ pracoditāḥ
śāmitre tu hayas tatra tathā jala carāś ca ye

Serpents and birds too were assigned according to scripture; at the slaughtering-place the horse (was assigned) there, and likewise those creatures that move in water.

Words: uragāḥ — serpents; pakṣiṇaś — birds; caiva — and; yathāśāstraṃ — according to scripture; pracoditāḥ — assigned, directed; śāmitre — at the slaughtering-place; tu — and; hayas — the horse; tatra — there; tathā — likewise; jala — water; carāś — moving (in); ca — and; ye — which, those

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.