← 1.13.37 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 13: Aśvamedha yajña: The horse’s return and completion of the rites · 1.13.39 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.13.38
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
1.13.38
kratuṃ samāpya tu tadā nyāyataḥ puruṣarṣabhaḥ
ṛtvigbhyo hi dadau rājā dharāṃ tāṃ kratuvardhanaḥ
Having duly completed the rite, that bull among men, the king, augmenter of the sacrifice, then gave that earth (his realm) to the officiating priests.
Words: kratuṃ — the rite; samāpya — having completed; tu — and; tadā — then; nyāyataḥ — duly; puruṣarṣabhaḥ — the bull among men; ṛtvigbhyo — to the officiating priests; hi — indeed; dadau — gave; rājā — the king; dharāṃ — the earth; tāṃ — that; kratuvardhanaḥ — augmenter of the sacrifice
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.