Shloka 1.39.8
सगरयज्ञाश्वहरणम् — The Stolen Sacrificial Horse of Sagara
ह्रियमाणे तु काकुत्स्थ तस्मिन्नश्वे महात्मन:।उपाध्यायगणास्सर्वे यजमानमथाब्रुवन्।।1.39.8।।
hriyamāṇe tu kākutstha tasminn aśve mahātmanaḥ | upādhyāyagaṇāḥ sarve yajamānam athābruvan || 1.39.8 ||
O Kakutstha, as that horse of the great-souled king was being carried off, all the groups of officiating priests then addressed the sacrificer.
O son of the Kakutsthas, when the magnanimous king Sagara's sacrificial horse was stolen away, all the high priests addressing the performer of the sacrifice said:
Dharma includes collective responsibility: learned priests must guide the ruler when a sacred duty is threatened. Proper counsel at a crisis point is itself a dharmic act.
Immediately after the horse is stolen, the priests intervene and speak to Sagara, indicating urgency and the need for corrective action to preserve the sacrifice.
The priests’ vigilance and readiness to advise reflect the virtue of dharmic guardianship—protecting sacred procedure through timely guidance.