Shloka 27
Śaṅkha–Likhita Upākhyāna: Daṇḍa, Confession, and the Purification of Kingship (शङ्ख-लिखितोपाख्यानम्)
धनुर्यूपो रशना ज्या शर: खुक् स्रुवः खड्गो रुधिरं यत्र चाज्यम् । रथो वेदी कामगो युद्धमग्नि- श्वातुर्होत्रं चतुरो वाजिमुख्या:,“उनका धनुष ही यूप था, करधनी प्रत्यज्चाके समान थी, बाण खुकु और तलवार खुवाका काम दे रही थी, रक्त ही घृतके तुल्य था, इच्छानुसार विचरनेवाला रथ ही वेदी था, युद्ध अग्नि था और चारों प्रधान घोड़े ही ब्रह्मा आदि चारों ऋत्विज् थे। इस प्रकार वे वेगशाली राजसिंह हयग्रीव उस यज्ञरूपी अग्निमें शत्रुओंकी आहुति देकर पापसे मुक्त हो गये तथा अपने प्राणोंको होमकर युद्धकी समाप्तिरूपी अवभूथ-स्नान करके वे इस समय देवलोकमें आनन्दित हो रहे हैं
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
dhanur yūpo raśanā jyā śaraḥ śuk sruvaḥ khaḍgo rudhiraṃ yatra cājyam |
ratho vedī kāmago yuddham agniś cāturhotraṃ caturo vājimukhyāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “His bow served as the sacrificial post; the belt-strap became the bowstring; the arrows were like the ladle, and the sword performed the work of the offering-spoon. There, blood itself took the place of ghee. His chariot, moving wherever he willed, was the altar; the battle was the fire; and his four foremost horses were as the four chief priests of the cāturhotra rite. Thus that swift, lion-like king Hayagrīva, offering his enemies into the fire of this ‘sacrifice’ and finally offering up his own life-breath, became freed from sin; and having completed the war as though it were the concluding avabhṛtha bath, he now rejoices in the world of the gods.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच