The embryo of the Friend, the navel of the All-Seeing,

Do thou, accepting this our sacrifice,

O chariot, take to thyself the oblations.

s Roar to earth and sky;

Let the scattered world be ware of thee in many places;

Do thou, O drum, by the leave of the Mighty One and the angels,

Drive away the foe further than far.

t Roar thou! Grant us force and might.

Thunder, overthrowing obstacles;

Snort away, O drum, misfortune hence;

Thou art the fist of the Mighty One; show thy strength.

u Drive to us those, and these make to come to us;

The drum speaks aloud for a signal of battle

Our heroes winged with steeds meet together;

Be our chariotmen victorious, O Mighty One.

4.6.7

a When first thou didst cry on birth,

Arising from the ocean or the dust,

The wings of the eagle, the limbs of the gazelle,

That is thy famed birth, O steed.

b The steed given by the appointed term Trita has yoked,

It the Mighty One first mounted,

The bridle of it the heavenly musician grasped;

O Vasus, from the sun ye fashioned the steed.

c Thou art the appointed term, O steed, thou art the Sustainer;

Thou art Trita by secret ordinance;

Thou art entirely separated from the provision of the Lord;

Three, they say, are thy bonds in the sky.

d Three, they say, are thy bonds in the sky,

Three in the waters, three within the ocean

And like the All-Seeing to me thou appearest, O steed,

Where, say they, is thy highest birthplace.

e These, O swift one, are thy cleansings,

These the placings down of thy hooves in victory;

Here I have seen thy fair ropes,

Which the guards of holy order guard.

f The self of thee with my mind I perceived from afar,

Flying with wings from below through the sky;

Thy head I saw speeding with wings

On paths fair and dustless.

g Here I saw thy highest form,

Eager to win food in the footstep of the cow;

When a mortal man pleases thy taste,

Then most greedily dost thou consume the plants.

h Thee follows the chariot, thee the lover, O steed,

Thee the kine, thee the portion of maidens;

Thy friendship the companies have sought;

The angels have imitated thy strength.

i Golden his horns, iron his feet;

Swift as thought, the Mighty One was his inferior;

The angels came to eat his oblation

Who first did master the steed.

k Full haunched, of slender middle,

The heroic divine steeds,

Vie together like cranes in rows,

When the horses reach the divine coursing-place.

l Thy body is fain to fly, O steed;

Thy thought is like the blowing wind;

Thy horns are scattered in many places,

They wander busy in the woods.

m To the slaughter the swift steed has come,

Pondering with pious mind;

The goat, his kin, is led before,

Behind him come the sages to sing.

n To his highest abode has the steed come,

To his father and his mother;

Today do thou go, most welcome, to the angels' Lord;

Then boons shall He assign to the generous.

4.6.8

a Let not the Friend, the All-Seeing, the Sustainer, the Giver of life,

The Mighty One, the Rbhuksan, the Maruts disregard us,

When we shall proclaim before the assembly

The might of the strong steed given by God.

b When they bear before him, covered with a garment and with wealth

The gift they have seized,

The goat, all-formed, bleating,

Goes straight to the dear stronghold of the Mighty One and the Nourisher.

c This goat is led before the strong steed

As share of the Nourisher, connected with all the angels,

When the Fashioner impels him as an acceptable sacrifice

Together with the steed for fair renown.

d When men thrice lead round in due season

The steed going to the angels' Lord as an acceptable offering

Then first goes the Nourisher's share,

The goat announcing the sacrifice to the angels.

e Invoking priest, officiating priest, atoner, fire kindler,

Holder of the stone, and skilled reciter,

With this well-prepared sacrifice

Well offered do ye fill the channels.

f The cutters of the stake, the bearers of the stake,

And they that fashion the top piece for the stake for the horse,

And they that collect the cooking-pot for the steed,

May their approval quicken us.

g He has come forth, efficacious has been my prayer,

To the regions of the angels, straight backed;

In him the sages, the seers, rejoice,

For the prosperity of the righteous a good friend have we made.

h The bond of the strong one, the tie of the steed,

The head stall, the rope of him,

And the grass placed in his mouth,

May all these of thine be accepted.

i Whatever of the horse's flesh the fly eats,

Whatever on the chip or the axe has stuck,

Whatever is on the hands, the nails of the slayer,

May all these of thine be accepted.

k The refuse that blows forth from the belly,

The smell of raw flesh,

Let the slayers see that in order

Let them cook the fat to a turn.

l Whatever flies away from thy limb

As it is cooked by the fire when thou art spitted,

Let it fall not on earth, nor on the grass;

Be that given to the eager righteous.

4.6.9

a Those who watch for the cooking of the strong one,

And call out, 'It is fragrant; take it out,'

And who wait to beg for the meat of the steed,

May their approval quicken us.

b The trial spoon of the meat-cooking pot,

The vessels to hold the juice,