Shloka 12
राजपूजाविधानम् / Royal Reception Protocols during Āśvamedha Preparations
अद्यप्रभृति कौन्तेय यजस्व समयो हि ते । मुहूर्तो यज्ञिय: प्राप्तश्नीदयन्तीह याजका:
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
adya-prabhṛti kaunteya yajasva samayo hi te |
muhūrto yajñiyaḥ prāptaḥ snīdayantīha yājakāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : « Ô fils de Kuntī, à partir d’aujourd’hui commence le sacrifice ; l’heure qui t’est assignée est véritablement arrivée. Le muhūrta propice du rite est à portée de main, et voici que les prêtres officiants t’appellent (pour l’ouvrir). »
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Right action (dharma) includes timely performance of prescribed duties. The verse emphasizes beginning a righteous undertaking—here, a royal sacrifice—when the proper time and auspicious conditions are present, guided by qualified ritual experts.
The narrator reports an instruction addressed to Kaunteya (Yudhiṣṭhira): the scheduled time for the sacrifice has arrived, the auspicious muhūrta is present, and the officiating priests are summoning him to commence the rite.