अश्वान् अग्र्यान् पाण्डुराभ्रप्रकाशान्; पुष्टान् स्नातान् मन्त्रपूताभिर् अद्भिः ॥
तप्तैर् भाण्डैः काञ्चनैर् अभ्युपेताञ्; शीघ्राञ् शीघ्रं सूतपुत्रानयस्व ॥
रथं चाग्र्यं हेमजालावनद्धं; रत्नैश् चित्रं चन्द्रसूर्यप्रकाशैः ॥
द्रव्यैर् युक्तं संप्रहारोपपन्नैर्; वाहैर् युक्तं तूर्णम् आवर्तयस्व ॥
aśvān agryān pāṇḍurābhraprakāśān; puṣṭān snātān mantrapūtābhir adbhiḥ ||
taptair bhāṇḍaiḥ kāñcanair abhyupetāñ; śīghrāñ śīghraṃ sūtaputrānayasva ||
rathaṃ cāgryaṃ hemajālāvanaddhaṃ; ratnaiś citraṃ candrasūryaprakāśaiḥ ||
dravyair yuktaṃ saṃprahāropapannair; vāhair yuktaṃ tūrṇam āvartayasva ||
«Bring quickly, O son of a suta, choice horses, the color of a white cloud, well-fed, bathed in waters purified by mantra, [watered] from burnished golden vessels, swift ones. And the finest chariot, bound with golden netting, richly adorned with gems shining like the moon and sun, fitted with equipment fit for battle, yoked with draft horses — bring it round quickly.»
2f5bfc145eb3 · published Jul 19, 2026, 2:46:26 PM UTC
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The horses are bathed in «water purified by mantra» — and in this detail one sees the order of Vedic life, where even the gear of war is consecrated, nothing done outside the sacred. Thus the kshatriya enters battle not as a marauder but as the performer of a rite of duty, calling down blessing upon his weapons. Yet ritual purity of equipment does not cleanse the wrongness of the cause it serves: consecrated horses will draw the chariot in the service of adharma. The verse teaches that outward consecration of an act does not substitute for righteousness of its purpose; and that a blessing sought for an unjust undertaking does not turn wrong into right — the rite is holy only where the deed itself is holy.