Agnipurana 287

English (machine translation) 287

Language: English

287.4 — 1 part
287.15 — 2 parts
287.26 — 3 parts
287.38 — 1 part
287.48 — 5 parts
287.60 — 1 part
287.66 — 10 parts

287.1

Dhanvantari said: / I shall declare the essence of horsemanship and the medical treatment of horses. / Acquisition of steeds should be made for the accomplishment of virtue, pleasure, and wealth.

287.2

Aśvinī, Śravaṇa, Hasta, and the triad of Uttarās: / these lunar mansions are praised for the first riding of horses.

287.3

Late autumn, winter, and spring are suitable for riding a horse; / in summer, autumn, and the rainy season, riding a horse is prohibited.

287.4

One should not strike [it] with fierce sticks or on improper spots, / nor in a place crowded with pegs and bones, uneven, full of thorns,

287.5

covered with sand and mud, or spoiled with pit after pit. / A man who, ignorant of its mind and lacking skillful means, undertakes riding—

287.6

he is driven about by the horse itself, seated upon its back without control. / A skilled rider, foremost among the wise, should make known its inclination.

287.7

Through practice and concentration, a rider controls his horse without weapons. / Then, when it is bathed and facing east, he should assign the deities to its body

287.8

in due order, beginning with Om, ending with namaḥ, with each one's seed-syllable: / Brahmā in the mind, Viṣṇu in strength, Garuḍa in valor,

287.9

the Rudras in the flanks, Bṛhaspati in the intellect, the Viśvedevas in the vital spots, / the Sun and Moon in the eyes and whorls of the eyes, and the Aśvins in the ears;

287.10

Agni in the belly, Svadhā in the sweat, Sarasvatī in the tongue, Vāyu in speed, / heaven upon its back, and all the mountains on the tips of its hooves;

287.11

the stars in the hair-follicles, the lunar digit in the heart, / Agni in splendor, Rati in the hips, and the Lord of the World on the forehead;

287.12

the planets in its neighing, and Vāsuki upon its chest. / Fasting, the horseman should worship the horse and recite [the mantra] into its right ear.

287.13

“O horse, you are the king of the Gandharvas! Listen to my word, go!
You are born of the lineage of the Gandharvas; do not become a disgrace to your line!

287.14

By the true word of the Brahmins, and of Soma and Garuḍa,
and by the power of Rudra, Varuṇa, and Pavana,

287.15

and by the radiance of the fire oblation-eater [Agni], remember your breed, O steed!
Remember, you are the son of a king of kings; recall your truthful pledge!

287.15.p2

[Variant reading: 'kaṇikāṃ vinā' in ka. and ña.]
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287.16

Remember the maiden Vāruṇī; remember the Kaustubha gem
when the ocean of milk was being churned by the gods and demons!

287.17

Born there in the family of the gods, keep your word!
Born in the line of horses, become my eternal friend!

287.18

Listen, O friend, to this: become an accomplished mount for me;
protect victory and me as well, and bring success in battle!

287.19

Mounting your back, the Daityas were slain by the gods of old;
now, mounting you, I will conquer the army of the enemy.”

287.20

Then, having performed the whispered recitation in its ear, and thus confusing the enemies,
the rider should saddle the horse and ride it; from battle comes victory.

287.21

The faults of horses generally arise with their own body;
moreover, excellent qualities are produced with great effort by the best of riders.

287.22

Qualities born of the best riders appear as if innate;
other riders destroy even their innate qualities.

287.23

One knows the virtues, and another knows the faults;
fortunate and wise is he who knows the horse; the dull-witted does not.

He who knows not the proper actions, knows not the methods, is addicted to speed, is exceedingly angry,
and delights in frequent beating even at the slightest flaw, is not praised, even if he were like Yama.

287.25

One who knows the methods, understands the mind [of the mount], is pure, removes faults,
is ever intent on acquiring good qualities, and is skilled in all operations [is praised].

287.26

Then, having taken the reins, entering the riding arena,
[the horse] is to be ridden by its rider with variations of left and right.

287.26.p1

[Footnote]

287.26.p2

[Variant reading: 'tathāsurān' in ja., ña., and ṭa.]

287.26.p3

[Variant reading: 'saha jātāḥ śarīreṇa' in ña.]
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287.27

Having mounted, an excellent horse should never be struck hastily;
from beating it incurs fear, and from fear comes bewilderment.

287.28

In the morning, lifting the reins, the rider should move it at a canter;
on another day, holding the reins, gently and slowly without the bit.

287.29

Conciliation is declared to be soothing; division is applied by means of the horse;
punishment is striking with a whip and the like; gift is patience regarding time.

287.30

When the previous stage is mastered, he should apply the subsequent ones one after another;
he should apply [the bit] beneath the tongue in riding a horse without excessive force.

287.31

He should plunge the reins, with hundreds of non-faulty strands, along with the corners of the mouth;
making it forget, he should gradually loosen the riding gear.

287.32

On a horse deficient in the limb of the tongue, he should loosen the knot on the tongue;
he should relieve its stiffness as long as it does not throw off its pace.

287.33

He should make the breastplate firm and release it without looseness;
for a horse that naturally holds its face raised, its breastplate [should be] unslackened.

287.34

Having arranged it, the best of riders should ride it with a [watchful] gaze and ease;
he who makes its hind leg joined
with its left foreleg by means of the left rein,

287.35

by him the right foot is taken control of;
he who in this sequence works it with the right rein,

287.36

by him also the left foot would surely be taken control of in the legs;
if the forward feet are released, a very firm seat is achieved.

287.37

The two that are restrained in difficult motion and twisting constitute the dramatic gait;
deprived of the left, it is humiliation; likewise in striking and multiplying.

287.38

Indeed, the horse's nature is to turn its face forward;

287.38.p1

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287.38_2

and these are not the causes for grasping the feet of horses.

287.39

Seeing that the horse is confident, firmly pressing down the seat,
checking the foot at the mouth, training [it] to look is beneficial.

287.40

Firmly pressing with both thighs and pulling the reins, it is controlled;
from that binding of a pair of legs, it is called vadvakvana.

287.41

Having aligned the feet with the reins, releasing the reins as desired,
by the application of the outer spur, where that occurs, it is considered striking.

287.42

Knowing the absence of agitation at dissolution, in this sequence the wise man
prescribes this procedure with a fourth twist.

287.43

The horse which does not place its foot down in a small circle,
he should cause to take the desired pace by means of twisting and bounding.

287.44

When, having rolled firmly in the seat, it goes slowly taking its stride,
where it is made to take it from restraint, that is called saṃgrahaṇa.

287.45

Striking the flank with a blow, standing in place, with an agitated mind,
pulling the reins with the foot, the thorn-drinking is to be checked.

287.46

The horse which rises up with this foot-movement from the heel-foot,
and which is restrained after humbling it, that is considered khalīkāra.

287.47

The desired foot which it does not take in the three paces,
where it is made to take it by striking with a stick, that indeed is gahana.

287.48

Subduing the horse with the fourfold [pace], by means of another rein,
raising it and checking it elsewhere, that would again be ucchāsana.

287.48.p1

[Footnote]

287.48.p2

[Variant reading: 'bhaṭhakālādyanutpādam' in ja.]

287.48.p3

[Variant reading: 'bāhyapārśve prayogāttu' in kha.]

287.48.p4

[Variant reading: 'vaṇṭayitvāsane' in kha.]

287.48.p5

[Variant reading: 'grāhakaṇṭakapāyanam' in kha.]
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287.49

Applying the foot-movement in that direction cast outward by nature,
and making it take it, that is considered turning of the face.

287.50

Then, having caused it to grasp the step in the three kinds in due order,
he should train it gradually in the five paces in circles and the like.

287.51

The wise rider should ride the mount that holds its face up from birth with loose reins;
he should ride that horse until lightness [appears] in its limbs.

287.52

When it is soft in the shoulder, light in the mouth, loose in all its joints,
and submissive to the rider, then he should restrain the horse.

287.53

When it does not drop its hind leg, then it becomes well trained;
then the pulling [of the reins] must be performed with both hands on the reins here.

287.54

So that the horse stands with its sacrum [balanced], high-necked, and level-faced,
when its hind legs rest on the ground and [the forelegs] are in the air,

287.55

then he should execute steady holding and tight guidance with the fist;
a horse which, when thus pulled suddenly, does not stop,

287.56

and throws its body about, he should subdue by circulating in circles;
and a mount which throws its shoulder should indeed be restrained with the rein.

287.57

Cow dung, salt, and urine boiled together with clay,
anointed upon the limbs, destroys fatigue and bites of flies and other insects.

287.58

In the middle of the breeds such as the Bhadra and others, the scum should be given by the rider. / If the horse is blunt, sharp, dispirited, or hungry,

287.59

it should be trained according as it is tractable. Horses perish if excessively driven, / and they do not succeed if not driven at all; one should drive those that hold their heads high.

287.60

Pressing the horse firmly with both knees, with steady fists,

287.60.p1

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287.60_2

in the serpentine course of cow-urine, the braid pattern, the lotus-circle garland,

287.61

and the five mortar-courses should be performed; these are described as proud. / The contracted, the expanded, the bent, according as it is arranged,

287.62

the cantering, galloping, and trotting: thus it is proclaimed. / The track may be up to one hundred bow-lengths, or eighty or ninety.

287.63

The Bhadra horse is easily trained; the Manda is set only upon the stick; / the Mṛga horse has deer-like shanks; and the mixed breed shares their qualities.

287.64

A horse that eats sugar, honey, and parched grain, sweet-smelling and clean, is a brāhmaṇa. / A horse that is spirited, disciplined, and intelligent is a kṣatriya.

287.65

A śūdra horse is unclean, unsteady, dull, deformed, unintelligent, and vicious. / A horse that, when restrained with the bridle, reveals its saliva,

287.66

should be trained in the paces by tightening and releasing the reins. / I shall describe the characteristics of horses and other animals, as told by Śālihotra.