ar's holy lustre moved the priests with sacred awe,
Swerved not from the rule of duty, failed not in the sacred law.

Done the rite of pure _pravargya_ with the pious hymn and lay,
To the task of _abhishava_ priests and Brahmans led the way,

And the holy Soma-drinkers pressed the sacred Soma plant,
And performed the pure _savana_ with the solemn _saman_ chant.

Bounty waits on squalid hunger, gifts dispel the timid fear,
Gold revives the poor and lowly, mercy wipes the mourner's tear,

Tender care relieves the stricken by the gracious king's command,
Charity with loving sweetness spreads her smile o'er all the land!

Day by day the _aswa-medha_ doth with sacred rites proceed,
Day by day on royal bounty poor and grateful myriads feed,

And adept in six Vedangas, strict in vow and rich in lore,
Sage preceptors, holy teachers, grew in virtue ever more!

Six good stakes of _vilwa_ timber, six of hard _khadira_ wood,
Six of seasoned _sarvavarnin_, on the place of _yajna_ stood,

Two were made of _devadaru_, pine that on Himalay grows,
One was made of wood of _slesha_ which the sacrificer knows,

Other stakes of golden lustre quaint with curious carving done,
Draped in silk and gold-brocaded like the _ursa major_ shone!

And the consecrated altar built and raised of bricks of gold,
Shone in splendour like the altar Daksha built in days of old,

Eighteen cubits square the structure, four deep layers of brick in height,
With a spacious winged triangle like an eagle in its flight!

Beasts whose flesh is pure and wholesome, dwellers of the lake or sky,
Priests assigned each varied offering to each heavenly power on high,

Bulls of various breed and colour, steeds of mettle true and tried,
Other creatures, full three hundred, to the many stakes were tied.

_Deva-rishis_ viewed the feasting, sweet _gandharvas_ woke the song,
_Apsaras_ like gleams of sunlight on the greensward tripped along,

_Kinnaras_ and _kim-purushas_ mingled in the holy rite,
_Siddhas_ of austerest penance stood around the sacred site!

Vyasa's great and gifted pupils, who the Vedas have compiled,
Gazed upon the _aswa-medha_, on the wondrous _yajna_ smiled!

From the bright ethereal mansions heavenly _rishi_ Narad came,
Chetra-sena woke the music, singer of celestial fame,

Cheered by more than mortal music Brahmans to their task incline,
And Yudhishthir's fame and virtue with a brighter lustre shine!

IV

Sacrifice of the Horse

Birds