← 1.13.32 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 13: Aśvamedha yajña: The horse’s return and completion of the rites · 1.13.34 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.13.33

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: it identifies the three-day sequence as Catuṣṭoma, Ukthya, and Atirātra, followed in its description by the associated Jyotiṣṭoma, Āyus, two Atirātras, Abhijit, Viśvajit, and Aptoryāma rites. Daśaratha grants the eastern quarter to the hotṛ, the west to the adhvaryu, the south to the brahman (supervising ṛtvij), and the north to the udgātṛ

1.13.33

tryaho 'śvamedhaḥ saṃkhyātaḥ kalpasūtreṇa brāhmaṇaiḥ
catuṣṭomam ahas tasya prathamaṃ parikalpitam

The aśvamedha is reckoned a three-day rite by the brahmins according to the ritual manual; its first day is arranged as the Catuṣṭoma.

Words: tryaho — a three-day (rite); 'śvamedhaḥ — the aśvamedha; saṃkhyātaḥ — reckoned, counted; kalpasūtreṇa — by the ritual manual (Kalpasūtra); brāhmaṇaiḥ — by the brahmins; catuṣṭomam — the Catuṣṭoma (a soma rite); ahas — day; tasya — of it; prathamaṃ — first; parikalpitam — arranged, appointed

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki, the ādikavi of the ādikāvya: the first poet of the first poem. 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.