Shloka 35
राजपूजाविधानम् / Royal Reception Protocols during Āśvamedha Preparations
तदनन्तर मनीषी पुरुषोंने शास्त्रोक्त विधिके अनुसार पशुओंको नियुक्त किया। भिन्न- भिन्न देवताओंके उद्देश्यसे पशु-पक्षी, शास्त्रकथित वृषभ और जलचर जन्तु--इन सबका अग्निस्थापन-कर्ममें याजकोंने उपयोग किया ।।
tadanantaraṁ manīṣī puruṣo ne śāstroktavidhike anusāraṁ paśūn niyuktaṁ cakāra | bhinna-bhinna-devatānām uddiśya paśu-pakṣiṇaḥ śāstrakathitā vṛṣabhā jalacarāś ca jantavaḥ—ete sarve ’gnisthāpana-karmaṇi yājakaiḥ prayuktāḥ || yūpeṣu niyatā cāsīt paśūnāṁ triśatī tathā | aśvaś ca ratnottaro yajne kaunteyasya mahātmanaḥ | kuntīnandana-mahātmā yudhiṣṭhirasya tasmin yajne ye yūpāḥ pratiṣṭhāpitās teṣu triśatāḥ paśavo baddhā āsan | teṣāṁ sarveṣāṁ madhye pradhānaṁ tad eva aśvaratnam āsīt ||
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。ついで賢明なる祭官は、シャーストラに説かれた作法に従い、供犠の獣を配置した。さまざまな神々のために、祭司たちは獣と鳥、経典に定められた牡牛（ヴリシャバ）、さらに水の生きものをも、聖火を据える儀礼に関わる作法のうちに用いた。偉大なるクンティーの子の祭儀に立てられた祭柱（ユーパ）には、三百の獣が正しく繋がれ、その中で最も尊いのは、ほかならぬ貴き供犠の馬であった。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes adherence to śāstric order in royal sacrifice: offerings are not arbitrary but regulated, hierarchized, and assigned to specific deities. It also implicitly raises the ethical gravity of such rites—animal sacrifice is presented as a duty within a traditional framework, inviting reflection on how dharma is negotiated through prescribed ritual.
During Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha, the officiants arrange and employ various sacrificial creatures according to scriptural rules, especially in connection with establishing the sacred fires. Three hundred animals are tethered to the sacrificial posts, and the chief among them is the consecrated horse—the central emblem of the Aśvamedha.