“Verily at this moment thou dost not die; nor art thou harmed; for thou goest by auspicious paths to the gods. The horses of INDRA, the steeds of the Maruts shall be yoked (to their cars), and a courser shall be placed in the shaft of the ass of the AŚWINS (to bear thee to heaven).”
The following hymn (lxiii.) I give in extenso:—
Maṇḍala I.—Súkta clxiii.
1. Thy great birth, O Horse, is to be glorified; whether first springing from the firmament or from the water, inasmuch as thou hast neighed (auspiciously), for thou hast the wings of the falcon and the limbs of the deer.
2. TRITA harnessed the horse which was given by YAMA: INDRA first mounted him, and GANDHARBA seized his reins. Vasus, you fabricated the horse from the sun.
3. Thou, horse, art YAMA: thou art A’DITYA: thou art TRITA by a mysterious act: thou art associated with SOMA. The sages have said there are three bindings of thee in heaven.
4. They have said that three are thy bindings in heaven; three upon earth; and three in the firmament. Thou declarest to me, Horse, who art (one with) VARUN̂A, that which they have called thy most excellent birth.
5. I have beheld, Horse, these thy purifying (regions); these impressions of the feet of thee, who sharest in the sacrifice; and here thy auspicious reins, which are the protectors of the rite that preserve it.
6. I recognise in my mind thy form afar off, going from (the earth) below, by way of heaven, to the sun. I behold thy head soaring aloft, and mounting quickly by unobstructed paths, unsullied by dust.
7. I behold thy most excellent form coming eagerly to (receive) thy food in thy (holy) place of earth; when thy attendant brings thee nigh to the enjoyment (of the provender), therefore greedy, thou devourest the fodder.