Shloka 13

Devanagari script

पृथिवीं पर्यटन्तं हि तुरगं कामचारिणम्‌ । कः पालयेदिति मुने तद्‌ भवान्‌ वक्तुमहति,युधिष्ठिरने कहा--ब्रह्मन! यह घोड़ा उपस्थित है। इसे किस प्रकार छोड़ा जाय, जिससे यह समूची पृथ्वीपर इच्छानुसार घूम आवे। इसकी व्यवस्था आप ही कीजिये तथा मुने! यह भी बताइये कि भूमण्डलमें इच्छानुसार घूमनेवाले इस घोड़ेकी रक्षा कौन करे?

Transliteration

pṛthivīṃ paryaṭantaṃ hi turagaṃ kāmacāriṇam | kaḥ pālayed iti mune tad bhavān vaktum arhati ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira dit : «Ô sage, ce cheval doit parcourir la terre à son gré. Dis-moi, je t’en prie : qui le gardera ? Et comment doit-il être relâché afin qu’il puisse errer librement à travers le monde selon sa propre voie ?»

Word by Word

• {'pṛthivīm': 'the earth, the world', 'paryaṭantam': 'wandering about, roaming', 'hi': 'indeed, surely', 'turagam': 'horse (lit. ‘going swiftly’)', 'kāmacāriṇam': 'moving as it wishes

• roaming at will', 'kaḥ': 'who?', 'pālayet': 'should protect, guard, keep watch over', 'iti': 'thus

• as (in reported speech)', 'mune': 'O sage', 'tat': 'that (matter)', 'bhavān': 'you (honorific)', 'vaktum': 'to say, to explain', 'arhati': 'is worthy/fit

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• muni (sage)
• Aśvamedha horse
• pṛthivī (the earth)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even a royal rite like the Aśvamedha must be conducted under dharma: freedom of movement (the horse roaming at will) is paired with accountable protection and proper procedure, so that power is exercised with restraint and responsibility.

What is happening in the narrative?

As preparations for the Aśvamedha proceed, Yudhiṣṭhira consults a sage about the practical and ritual arrangement: the horse must be released to wander across the earth, and he asks who should accompany and guard it during its unrestricted circuit.