Shloka 3
Aśvamedha-dīkṣā, Vyāsa’s horse-release, and Arjuna’s departure with Gāṇḍīva (आश्वमेधिक-दीक्षा तथा हय-उत्सर्गः)
व्यास उवाच अहं पैलो5थ कौन्तेय याज्ञवल्क्यस्तथैव च । विधानं यद् यथाकालं तत् कर्तारो न संशय:
vyāsa uvāca: ahaṃ pailo ’tha kaunteya yājñavalkyas tathaiva ca | vidhānaṃ yad yathākālaṃ tat kartāro na saṃśayaḥ ||
Vyāsa said: “O son of Kuntī, when the proper time for the sacrifice arrives, I—together with Paila and Yājñavalkya—will come and carry out the entire prescribed procedure in due order. Of this there is no doubt.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Righteous action (dharma) is to be performed according to proper procedure and proper timing, under the guidance of qualified authorities; such orderly observance sustains legitimacy and ethical kingship.
Vyāsa reassures Yudhiṣṭhira that when the time comes for the Aśvamedha sacrifice, eminent sages—Vyāsa himself, Paila, and Yājñavalkya—will arrive and conduct the ritual correctly, removing any uncertainty about its completion.