Shloka 3
सो$भिनिर्याय नगराद् भगदत्तसुतो नृप: । अश्वमायान्तमुन्मथ्य नगराभिमुखो ययौ,नगरसे निकलकर भगदत्तकुमार राजा वज्रदत्तने अपनी ओर आते हुए घोड़ेको बलपूर्वक पकड़ लिया और उसे साथ लेकर वह नगरकी ओर चला
so 'bhiniryāya nagarād bhagadattasuto nṛpaḥ | aśvam āyāntam unmathya nagarābhimukho yayau ||
Vaiśampāyana said: The king, the son of Bhagadatta, set out from the city. Seizing the approaching sacrificial horse by force, he turned back toward the city and went on, taking it with him—an act that signals a deliberate challenge to the Aśvamedha’s sovereign claim.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how ritual acts like the Aśvamedha function as assertions of political sovereignty; forcibly stopping or taking the horse is not merely a physical act but an ethical-political declaration of resistance, which traditionally entails accountability through confrontation and the restoration of order (dharma) in the realm.
Bhagadatta’s son, King Vajrādattā, comes out of the city, forcibly grabs the approaching Aśvamedha horse, and turns back toward the city with it—effectively detaining the horse and challenging the authority behind the sacrifice.