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अश्वप्लुतं वासवगर्जितं च
स्त्रीणां च चित्तं पुरुषस्य भाग्यम्।
अवर्षणं चाप्यतिवर्षणं च
देवो न जानाति कृतो मनुष्यः॥

A horse’s leap, the roar of thunder, a woman’s mind, and a man’s fate—none of these can be predicted. Just as rainfall may be absent or excessive, the...

unpredictability (46) fate (402) emotions (40) horse (23) thunder (33) mind (176) destiny (289) nature (950) woman (157) man (5) divine (346)

अश्वमध्ये कृतरवा शिवा युद्धप्रपञ्चकृत्।
शिवा सप्तस्वरा ग्राह्या बहुशब्दाश्च निष्फलाः॥

Among horses, one that neighs strongly is battle-ready; among sounds, only the seven musical notes (Saptasvara) are meaningful—many other sounds are j...

horse (23) strength (359) readiness (12) battle (121) sound (90) music (96) notes (2) relevance (6) discipline (380) discernment (142)

अश्वमेधसहस्रं च सत्यं च तुलया धृतम्।
अत्यरिच्यत सत्यं च इति वेदविदो विदुः॥

When a thousand Ashvamedha sacrifices are weighed against truth, the learned Vedic scholars say that truth far outweighs all rituals.

truth (300) sacrifice (146) ashvamedha (5) vedic wisdom (3) morality (248) dharma (540) righteousness (134) spirituality (106) ethics (803) value (170)

अश्वमेधसहस्रं च सत्यं च तुलया धृतम्।
अश्वमेधसहस्राद्धि सत्यमेव विशिष्यते॥

Even if one performs a thousand horse sacrifices, truth surpasses them all in spiritual merit and moral excellence.

truth (300) sacrifice (146) superiority (12) dharma (540) ethics (803) rituals (34) vedas (53) righteousness (134) morality (248) truthfulness (3)

अश्वमेधसहस्रं च सत्यं च तुलया धृतम्।
तुलयित्वा तु पश्यामि सत्यमेवातिरिच्यते॥

Upon weighing truth and a thousand horse-sacrifices on a balance, one finds truth to be of greater merit.

truth (300) comparison (402) value (170) sacrifice (146) righteousness (134) ethics (803) spiritual merit (7) weighing (1) balance (185) honesty (38)

अश्वमेधसहस्रं च सत्यं च तुलया धृतम्।
नाभिजानामि यद्यस्य सत्यस्यार्धमवाप्नुयात्॥

I do not know if anything can even equal half the merit of truth—not even a thousand Ashvamedha yajnas.

truth (300) superiority (12) sacrifice (146) ashvamedha (5) merit (120) moral greatness (1) virtue (726) spiritual (51) ethics (803) honesty (38)

अश्वमेधसहस्रस्य फलं सत्यं तुलान्तरे।
धृत्वा संलोड्यते राजन् सत्ये भवति गौरवम्॥

Truth has a weight greater than that of a thousand Ashvamedhas. Kings gain true honor only through truth.

truth (300) weight (7) sacrifice (146) honor (131) king (200) governance (214) value (170) righteousness (134) comparison (402) spiritual (51)

अश्वमेधसहस्राणां सहस्रं यः समाचरेत्।
नासौ पदमवाप्नोति मद्भक्तैर् यदवाप्यते॥

One who performs a thousand sets of Ashvamedhas still does not reach the state attained by sincere devotion to the Divine.

devotion (933) sacrifice (146) ashvamedha (5) spiritual path (48) bhakti (70) divine (346) vedic (19) salvation (44) merit (120) god (31)

अश्वयानं गजं मत्तं गावश्चैव प्रसूतिकाः।
तथा चान्तःपुरे दासीं दूरतः परिवर्जयेत्॥

One should avoid horses, intoxicated elephants, cows giving birth, and female servants within the inner palace—each represents risk or impropriety.

caution (269) danger (229) elephant (117) horse (23) cow (12) childbirth (1) servant (25) etiquette (38) safety (26) palace (26)

अश्वशालां समासाद्य यदान्तर्मधुमक्षिकाः।
मधुजालं प्रबध्नन्ति म्रियन्तेऽश्वास्तदा ध्रुवम्॥

When honeybees begin nesting inside the horse stables, the horses are sure to perish—symbolizing impending doom from seemingly minor signs.

omen (58) bees (131) horse (23) symbolism (947) death (241) prediction (10) superstition (30) danger (229) stability (43) decay (115)

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