Shloka 23

Āśvamedha-dīkṣā-nirdeśaḥ — Scheduling the Initiation and Assigning Protection for the Horse

Devanagari script

वायुदेव उवाच त्वमेवैतन्महाबाहो वक्तुमर्हस्थरिंदम । त्वं गति: सर्वभूतानामिति मे निश्चिता मतिः

Transliteration

Vāyudeva uvāca: tvam evaitat mahābāho vaktum arhasi ariṃdama | tvaṃ gatiḥ sarvabhūtānām iti me niścitā matiḥ ||

Translation

वायुदेव बोले— महाबाहो! शत्रुदमन! यह बात कहने योग्य केवल आप ही हैं। मेरा तो यह दृढ़ निश्चय है कि आप ही समस्त प्राणियों के आश्रय और आधार हैं।

Word by Word

• {'vāyudevaḥ': 'the Wind-god (Vāyu), a divine speaker', 'uvāca': 'said, spoke', 'tvam eva': 'you alone', 'etat': 'this (matter/teaching)', 'mahābāho': 'O mighty-armed one (honorific epithet of a hero/king)', 'vaktum': 'to speak, to explain', 'arhasi': 'you are worthy/fit (to do so)', 'ariṃdama': 'O tamer of enemies, subduer of foes', 'gatiḥ': 'refuge, goal, ultimate resort

• also ‘support’ in context', 'sarvabhūtānām': 'of all beings/creatures', 'iti': 'thus, ‘that’ (quotative marker)', 'me': 'my', 'niścitā': 'settled, firmly ascertained', 'matiḥ': 'thought, conviction, understanding'}

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyudeva (Vāyu)
• Mahābāhu (epithet of the addressed hero/king)
• Ariṃdama (epithet of the addressed hero/king)
• Sarvabhūta (all beings)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse affirms moral-spiritual authority: the truly qualified person should speak on profound matters, and the addressed hero is praised as the ‘gati’—the refuge/support—of all beings, emphasizing responsibility, protection, and dharmic leadership.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyudeva addresses a celebrated warrior-king with honorific epithets, urging him to speak on the matter at hand and expressing firm confidence that he serves as the sustaining refuge for all creatures.