Indeed thou diest not, thou sufferest not, thou goest to the gods on easy paths. May this horse give us cattle and horses, men, progeny, and all-sustaining wealth. May the horse of this sacrifice give us strength."[347] This was the foundation on which the Brahmanas construct an endless ritual for the sacrifice of horses, "the king of sacrifices," as the book of the law calls it. At the sacrifice of the horse, so we are told in the Çatapatha-Brahmana, the Adhvaryu on the first day calls on the players on the flute to celebrate the king who offers the sacrifice, and with him the virtuous princes of ancient days. The priest narrates the history begun by Manu Vaivasvata. On the second day he narrates the history begun by Yama Vaivasvata, and on the third day that begun by Varuna Aditya (p. 124); on the fourth day he narrates that begun by Soma Vaishnava, etc.; on the tenth day that begun by Dharma Indra, and sings the Soma, _i.e._ the hymns of the Samaveda.[348] In the Mahabharata, Yudhishthira, after ascending the throne of Hastinapura, offers a sacrifice of horses, in order to assuage his grief at the loss of his heroes, and to extend his dominion. The Brahman Vyasa tells the king that this sacrifice is very difficult; that he must sleep the whole year through on the ground, with his wife at his side, and a naked sword between them; if he does not keep his desires in subjection during the whole of this time, the entire efficacy of the sacrifice is lost. The horse with the necessary marks is found and brought forward. According to the poem it must be as white as the moon, with a yellow tail, and the right ear must be black; the horse can also be entirely black. On a certain day, determined by the moon, the horse is let loose. It bears a gold plate on its forehead with the name of the king to whom it belongs, and the announcement that an army is following it, and any one who detains the horse, or leads it astray, will be compelled by force of arms to set it at liberty, and after the end of the year to appear at the sacrifice of the horse. Arjuna overcomes all the princes who would retain the horse. Then the princes who have submitted or been conquered assemble at Hastinapura; Yudhishthira and Draupadi take a bath for purification; the king ploughs the place of sacrifice with a golden plough; Draupadi sows it to the accompaniment of the prayers of the Brahmans; then the midst of the space is covered with four hundred golden tiles, and round about these are set up eight posts, eight trenches for the preparation of the curdled milk, clarified butter, and soma, and provided with eight great spoons, in order to bring the sacrificial gifts into the fire. Yudhishthira takes his place on the throne of gold and sandal-wood; twenty-four princes and rishis go to the Ganges in order to bring water for the sacrifice in pitchers on their heads. When the king has been purified by this water, the horse is